Plotting Bunnies
by The Red Dragons Order
Summary: A series of oneshots, both crossover and not, most of them slash. Oneshot 11: "Sorceress" really was sexist term in Harry's opinion. He was very much male, and Squall could attest to that. HPxFinal Fantasy VIII
1. HP & Fullmetal Alchemist I 'slash'

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer:** I only own the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Hiroku Arakawa.

**Author's Note:** This is going to be a series of one-shots, both crossover and not and most of them slash, raging from PG to M to fluffy to dramatic. This is the first of said series, and I hope that you enjoy!

**Crossover:** Harry Potter & Fullmetal Alchemist.

**Pairing:** Harry(Roy)/Ed

**Warnings:** Slightly AU in the FMA-verse. Light shounen-ai.

**Rating:** T

**One-shot #1: Ready, Steady, GO! (Part I)**

The last thing Harry had expected after the final battle with Voldemort, was to end up in a world far different from his own and where magic was known as alchemy. But that was exactly what had happened – largely helped along by Hermione's ingenious spell – and for a whole year or more Harry had been happily travelling through said new world, completely anonymous and not a single soul had even known who he truly was. Hell, he had even changed his name upon arrival, and most people simply thought him to be a foreigner from one of the neighbouring countries. Apparently such exceedingly black hair and pale skin as his wasn't common in Amestris. Harry hadn't bothered to correct them, and simply smiled whenever the question came up.

His anonymity was further helped along by the fact that the infamous lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead had faded completely, and only appeared when he did some heavy magic – which wasn't often. Hermione had also insisted on him getting contacts.

"If you're going to go gallivanting off to a new, unexplored world without me and Ron, then you're going to minimize the danger as much as you can." She had told him sternly. "Glasses are dangerous. They can fall off in the middle of battle, break, you can lose them, any number of things can happen. Therefore you are going to do what the Aurors do, and get yourself contacts. Magical contacts differ greatly from their muggle counterparts. Standard contacts can last up to six months, and if you are willing to pay extra, then you can get a pair that last your entire life, taking an insignificant amount of your magic yearly to keep themselves in working order."

"Here're the colour-choices, mate," Ron had picked up, holding up a parchment. "See? They have red ones, green ones – that are, apparently, very popular lately. They also have black ones, yellow ones, pink, orange, brown, amber, you name it!"

Despite Ron's fervent wishes for him to choose the neon-pink contacts, Harry had settled for a pair of simple black ones, charmed to last his entire life. Harry rather thought that he fit the new image he had created. With black hair that he managed to tame slightly with a powerful spell, narrow eyes black as coal, and pale skin, he looked like a much more friendly and shorter version of Severus Snape.

'_The old git's probably rolling over in his grave.'_ He thought in amusement.

His wanderings throughout this new world had brought him to Central, the capital of Amestris, where he had ended up meeting a young man named Mäes Hughes. Within five minutes of meeting the other man, Harry had known that Hughes was insane. An hour later he was ready to commit murder upon said man, and before the day was over he was sure that he couldn't have made a better friend. Hughes was a good man, a good friend, and was totally devoted to his girlfriend, and often bombarded Harry with pictures of said woman.

"It's like this angel flew down from heaven and kissed her!" Hughes would randomly exclaim while pushing a picture of the woman in question straight into Harry's face. "Isn't my Gracia the hottest thing you've ever seen, Roy?!" he would ask, using Harry's assumed name in this world.

Harry would either roll his eyes or shake his head, surprisingly finding himself fondly exasperated, then he would try to go back to the alchemy book he was looking at. It was something that he always did when arriving in a larger town or city. He would head straight to the public library and raid their alchemy-section. The entire thing fascinated him. "Sure, Hughes, wonderful."

"Exactly!!!! Look!!! I've got another picture of her!!" Hughes would then pull out picture after picture, until Harry finally snapped at him. "Why are you reading, Roy? Alchemy? Thinking of joining the State Alchemists, then?"

"Maybe." Harry nodded. "I would like to help people in some way. Besides, alchemy fascinates me, and the military HQs here in Central have the biggest alchemy-related library of them all."

Hughes stared seriously at him for a long while before he smiled. "If you are going to join, then so am I."

Harry blinked. "But what about Gracia?"

"She'll understand, besides, it's not like I can't have a military career if I marry her."

"But why would you ever-?"

The other young man grinned and promptly messed up Harry's hair as though Harry was a kid. "Someone has to keep reminding you to get yourself a wife and settle down, Roy Mustang, and it might as well be me!"

"Hughes!" Harry had roared in return, and had chased the other man out of the library and throughout half the city before they settled down in a small café, watching the people pass along with the occasional car. Harry noted that everything – except the clothes – seemed to come straight from the 1930's, and it made him smile. "Seriously though, Hughes, why would you ever follow me into military service? We've barely known each other for two months."

"I told you! At the rate you are going you'll never settle down! I intend to make sure that you don't end up like a scrooge!"

That was the only answer Hughes would ever give him, no matter how many times Harry asked, begged, threatened, blackmailed or otherwise tried to get it out of him. Gracia seemed to know the answer whenever Harry met her, but she never said anything and simply smiled and offered him another piece of her homemade apple pie.

Harry and Hughes joined up with the State Military, and were quickly separated when it was discovered that Hughes had a knack for intelligence gathering, while Harry had a knack for alchemy, especially alchemy that involved fire. They were both taken under the wings of older officers, and hardly ever saw each other for the next three years. Harry studied alchemy under a man who wasn't directly involved with the army anymore, but who was still on their pay-list. Mr Hawkeye was a demanding teacher, and Harry hardly had the time to finish all the work the man set for him, let along make social calls to Hughes (who was just as busy) or Gracia – though he did manage to drop by every now and then.

After taking the State Alchemist Exam – and easily passing – Harry was almost at once dispatched to the neighbouring eastern country, Ishbal. It was supposed to be a simple mission of calming some civil unrest, wasn't supposed to last more than a few months at the most, but it didn't go that way. The Ishbalans thought alchemy to be the work of the devil, and they had nothing to put up against the State Alchemists. Nor was their firepower anything worth mentioning, and it turned into a genocide. Harry did things during that war that he would never have thought himself ever capable off, and it made him sick whenever he even thought about it. He knew that he had become just like the Death Eaters, and that thought unsettled him more than anything else could have done.

It was Hughes who made him see otherwise.

"You did help people, Roy!" the man insisted. Harry's group and Hughes' group had met up during the fights that day, and had put up camp together just outside of the smoking ruins of an Ishbalan city. A city that Harry had almost single-handedly brought down with his alchemy. "You have saved all your friends today! This is a war, Roy, and they are our enemy."

It was a harsh truth, but it managed to bring some small measure of comfort.

Once the war was over, Harry had been promoted to Colonel for his work. He smiled and nodded and thanked those in charge during the ceremony, but all he really wanted to do was to wash his hands clean of the entire thing – and the army. Later that day he and Hughes (who had also received a promotion), had met up in their regular café, and true feelings could finally be let free.

"I hate it," Harry said, staring into his class. "I wish I had never done this in the first place. _Helping_ civilians!" he snorted.

"What's done is done. We have both become dogs of the military." Hughes muttered quietly into his own glass. "Question is, what do you intend to make of it all?"

Harry hadn't replied for a long while, but finally he did. "I'm going to become Führer. And I'm going to make sure that it never happens again. The country of Amestris is far too bloodthirsty for its own good, and someone needs to put a stop to it before we're all wiped out." He had done too much wrong during the war in Ishbal to ever have peace in his soul, but he could try to right some of his mistakes. Perhaps then Ron and Hermione – with whom he kept in regular contact – wouldn't hate him too much for it.

"That's right, I keep forgetting that you aren't originally a citizen of Amestris." The other man muttered, and downed his glass. When he looked up, there was a rather dark smirk on his face. "If you're going to for the presidential position, then I'll help you. I'll work under you, stay close to the higher-ups, and help push you to the top."

Harry smiled for the first time since the fights in Ishbal had begun.

-x-x-x-x-

Over the next couple of years Harry did all he could to rise through the ranks, presenting himself like a loyal soldier. He also managed to establish a wide informant network consisting mostly of women, which gave him the misinformed title of womaniser, but he ignored it. Over time he also founded a core group of loyal friends, who supported him and would do everything in their power to help him out – most loyal of those being Lieutenant Colonel Mäes Hughes of course, and First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye – the daughter of his old alchemy teacher.

"My father praised you highly, sir," Riza said on one occasion. "He taught you everything he knew about alchemy, and trusted you with each one of his secrets. If it is acceptable to you, sir, I would like to stay on as your subordinate as long as you are willing to have me."

Everything had gone great for a few years, then Harry found himself contacted by the young Elric brothers in an attempt to reach their father. At this point he left the Eastern Headquarters along with Riza, hoping that the panic and fear he perceived from the letter didn't lead the young Elric brothers to commit the greatest sin in alchemy: human transmutation. Unfortunately he came too late, and two days after the deed had been done, he knocked on the door of an auto-mail mechanic, Rockbell, having been told that the two boys in question were currently staying there after some sort of accident – thankfully the local people didn't known about the truth of what had happened.

"You should take the State Alchemist Exam," Harry said as he stared down at Edward Elric. The child didn't even twitch, the empty and emotionless look never leaving his eyes. The boy had lost his will to live, just like he had lost his arm and left leg during the transmutation. "If you take it the government will fund your research, and you can try to rectify your mistake. Or I can arrest you right now for trying human transmutation. I'll give you two years. If you don't show up at the Eastern Headquarters in search of me within that time-frame, I will come and arrest you. Either way, stop this self-pitying and start living again."

"What the devil do you think you are doing?!" the miniature auto-mail mechanic Pinaco Rockbell raged at him as he left the room. "Do you have any idea what that poor boy has been through in the past two days?!"

"I do, Mrs Rockbell. I went to the house and saw the cellar." Harry replied calmly while accepting his coat from Riza. "I assume that you took care of the results of the transmutation?"

"… I did." Was all Pinaco was willing to grumble. "That _thing_ was nothing close to human."

"Good." Harry put on his gloves and hat, then turned towards the corner where a large piece of armour sat, and approached it. "Here's my card. Use it."

The armour looked up at him, a young boy's voice echoing somewhat metallically from inside it. "Uhm, Colonel Mustang, sir, I-I don't think nii-san…"

"Keep it just in case." Harry replied, allowing his eyes and facial features to soften slightly, then he left the house. "The Edward-boy is barely ten years now, and still he managed to bind his brother's soul to a piece of armour during a life-or-death situation. Simply amazing." He couldn't help the small smirk to lift the corner of his mouth.

"Are you sure this was a good idea, _taisa_?" (_Colonel_) Riza asked as they headed towards the train station. "That boy seemed utterly broken."

"Nothing to worry about, First Lieutenant," Harry replied. "Two years at the most and the oldest Elric will be giving us a call. And where the older goes, the younger one will follow."

He had been correct in his statement, and Edward and Alphonse Elric showed up just as he had predicted. That was the beginning of the end, he supposed when he looked back at it all. Though he had to admit that the verbal sparring with Edward Elric were thoroughly amusing, and he definitely looked forwards to seeing Edward and these arguments.

"Fullmetal? Where'd you run off to?" Harry would look around his office, trying to keep himself from grinning at the fuming blond. "Ah! There you are! I couldn't see you there behind my paperwork, seeing as how you're so short and all."

"Who're you calling so small you want to crunch like an ant!?!?!" Ed would shout.

"That's not what he said at all." Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc would mutter, while Fuery and Breda nodded and Riza simply sighed in exasperation.

"Bastard Colonel!"

The two Elric brothers had not only brought themselves to the Eastern Headquarters, but a whole lot of trouble followed them like a moth to the flame, and for the next couple of years Harry had his hands full protecting the headstrong Fullmetal Alchemist and his younger brother from the higher-ups, paying for the damage Ed caused wherever he went, and tolerating being insulted by a half-pint bean-sprout with anger-management problems.

"Sometimes I really wish I could kill the short brat." He grumbled to Hermione once she came to visit him.

The bushy-haired woman laughed. "Now you know how Professor Snape experienced us in school. We were just as horrid." She and Ron took turns to visit Harry. One of them always had to remain behind to anchor the spell and to open the portal when the other wanted to get back. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that the _great_ Flame Alchemist has a crush on Edward Elric."

Harry blinked in shock. What the hell was the woman thinking!?!?!

Hermione simply laughed again when his only reply was a weak squeak in protest.

"You can't fool me, Roy," Hughes said with a grin. "You care for Ed in a manner you haven't cared for anyone as long as I've known you."

"I don't." Harry insisted stubbornly.

"You do. And I wouldn't mind if you settled down with him, you need someone to keep you on your toes."

"Hughes…" the other man growled out in warning, but his upcoming tirade was cut off by having a picture shoved into his face.

"Look! Can you believe how big Elicia's gotten? She can even ride a tricycle now. She follows me everywhere on that thing – like my own escort of cuteness!" Hughes stuck another picture under Harry's nose. "You have to hear the girl! And to think she's only three years old! She has the voice of an angel! That settles it! She's gonna be an opera star!"

Life didn't get easier after that. The appearance of the alchemist serial killer Scar and the homunculi brought even more chaos to the world, and the Fullmetal Alchemist seemed dead set on being in the middle of it all. Hughes was murdered, and Harry found out that the current Führer, King Bradley, was a homunculi himself. When he tried to expose the man to others in the military, he found himself demoted and cut off from most of his loyal friends. However, in the end the homunculi were defeated, but not without casualties. Harry himself lost his left eye, and Edward Elric used himself as equivalent exchange to give Alphonse his body back. Harry had demoted himself to Corporal and had retreated to a remote outpost, needing time to process it all and to think through it. Unlike some people he was sure that the oldest Elric was still alive and would return, and he was proven right once again two years later when he had to break his currently-preferred no-alchemy-allowed hermit-ways to help defend Amestris from the invading forces of Dietlinde Eckhart.

The State Army had won, luckily, and Harry had retreated from the civilized world again. Seeing Edward Elric again had sent a shock to Harry's very core, and he could no longer deny his feelings for the young man. Therefore he had tried his best to cover his tracks, having pulled any and all favours to hide where he was headed so that no one could find him. He simply wanted to be alone, he needed _time_, but Hawkeye, Breda, Fuery, Falman, Havoc and most others didn't seem too fond of his decision.

-x-x-x-x-

So, here he was, eight years after the Eckhart-incident, the ruler of his very own one-man post on the Drachma side of the Briggs Mountain Range. The place was buried in four feet of snow more than three quarters of the year, and the closest human contact was another outpost a week's walking towards the east. Every month he had to check in by telegram with the closest army HQs which was situated at the foot of the Briggs Mountain Range on the Amestris side, and supplies would be sent once every six months by dog-sled. It was a harsh and lonely life, and he often wondered why he didn't simply allow himself to die or kill himself – lord knew that more than one person had perished in these outposts.

'_I think I'm waiting for something, whatever it might be.'_ He thought to himself as he trudged through the snow. If someone from Central saw him now, they wouldn't recognise him. The army-issued winter clothes weren't made for such harsh conditions, and he had taken to bundling himself up in fur-made clothes that he bartered for with the locals whenever he met them – which wasn't often. He had allowed his hair to grow out and to go back to its natural wild state, and had allowed for a surprisingly thick and long beard to make its appearance. It may be a hassle to keep the hair and the beard clean, but at least they helped to keep him warm. Quite frankly he looked like a mix between a savage and the look that Sirius had sported upon his escape from Azkaban.

'_It's going to snow again soon,' _Harry mused as he looked up at the sky through the sparse canopy of the trees. The wind was already picking up, and dark clouds rolled surprisingly quickly across the bleak skies. _'Better get this patrol done with, and get back to the hut. It's going to be a bad storm, this one.'_

He continued for another couple of minutes – while praising the locals to the high heavens for giving him these warm fur-clothes – before he suddenly stumbled across something unexpected. A very red, very familiar coat was hanging from a lower branch of one of the trees. With a shocked blink, he hurried over to it and pulled it down, revealing the well-known cross-and-serpent crest.

"What the hell…" he trailed off and concentrated on finding the person to whom the coat belonged. _'The wind's been blowing in __this__ direction for a while now, and the coat couldn't have hung there for long or the wind would've ripped it free and carried it away. Which means that I need to go in __that__ direction…'_

Harry walked steadily through the thigh-high snow, almost bent double in order to avoid the worst of the wind and the snow that had started falling with vengeance. Fifteen minutes later he spotted what he was looking for and hurried over. The black-clad person was already almost half-way buried in the snow, pale and shivering, their lips almost blue. Familiar blond hair danced across the snow in the wind, and Harry couldn't help but stare for a second.

'_What the hell is Edward Elric doing in this godforsaken place?' _he wondered, then sighed. _'For some strange reason I feel like my hermit-years are coming to an end.'_

Wrapping the smaller man in the red coat and lifting him onto a shoulder, Harry started on the trek back to his cabin-slash-outpost. Once he returned he placed the frozen young man on the rug in front of the fireplace and lit said fireplace with matches. He still refused to use his alchemy or magic even after all these years. Quickly shedding his thick fur-jacket, mittens, boots, pants, and head-cover, he walked back to the unconscious young man to examine him.

'_He's grown since last time,' _Harry mused to himself as he methodically and automatically checked for wounds, then he snorted. _'Way to state the obvious. It's been eight years since you last saw him, genius, the boy should be twenty-six years old now. He has developed into a handsome young man.' _He shook his head angrily at his own thoughts, and focused on his examination. _'Nothing seems broken. The problem seems to be the cold, perhaps a bit of frost bite. Nothing that Hermione's potions can't heal up. A few pepper-ups and Edward Elric will be back to his annoying, half-pint self.'_

After finding the required potions and forcing them down Fullmetal's throat, Harry quickly walked through the one-room cabin, removing the few things that could identify him. Pictures of himself and Hughes, of Elicia, of Gracia, and the group-picture of himself, Ed, Alphonse in the armour, Riza, Havoc, Fuery, Breda and Falman were all hidden in one of the large chests. A few other things were hidden as well, but there wasn't much to do – mostly since he didn't own much to begin with.

'_Hopefully the boy won't recognise me, will leave, and I will be left alone again.'_ He sighed. _'Yeah, right, this is Edward Elric we're talking about. He'll dig into my secrets, and won't stop until he knows what colour of underpants I wear!'_

Then he settled down by the fire in the lone wooden chair that he owned, and constantly caught himself staring at Fullmetal who occupied his bed.

After the third time, he slapped himself harshly on the cheek. _'Stop it, you idiot. He's almost twenty years your younger! Probably married that Rockbell girl ages ago. No, my dear Roy Mustang, when you settled down here in the middle of nowhere, you condemned yourself to the life-style of a monk. The only thing you will experience is some self-love.'_

He threw another piece of wood onto the fire, stirred the stew that was brewing over said fire, and then settled down for a long wait.

-x-x-x-x-

Fullmetal didn't wake until the next afternoon, and Harry had been slightly worried that the young man wouldn't wake up at all. But he did, and looked around the cabin with curious golden eyes, before finally settling on Harry's form by the fire. Harry was ever grateful for his long, unruly hair which practically covered his entire face unless he tied it back into a ponytail. Most importantly, it hid the eye patch that covered the left side of his face. His beard was thick and generally he looked very scruffy and most decidedly not like he had as a Colonel.

"It was very foolish of you, Major, to walk around in the middle of a snowstorm in those thin and useless clothes." Harry commented quietly, not looking at his guest but stirring the broth. He picked up a ladle, poured some of the soup into a bowl and held it out to Ed.

"I'm a Lieutenant Colonel," Ed said automatically as he accepted the bowl and blew on it to cool it down.

"I apologise," Harry said still in the same quiet voice, giving off the impression of being very shy and slightly insecure. "There were no markings on your clothes, sir."

"Ah, no, I usually don't wear the uniform." The blond replied between mouthfuls of the soup. "What is this place?"

"Amestris State Army Outpost #62442, one of five on the Drachma side of the Briggs Mountain Range. May I ask, sir, what you are doing out here? We usually don't get visitors out here, and the arrival of a State Alchemist would've reached our ears." The older man looked over on the other through his curtain of hair. _'Isn't it ironic, Fullmetal, that you now hold a higher rank than your "Bastard Colonel" and don't even know it?'_

"I'm looking for someone." Edward replied, then held out his bowl. "Could I have seconds?"

'_You have truly changed! There was a time that you would've simply demanded seconds. Heh. Wonder if you still hate milk.'_ These thoughts ran through Harry's head as he took the bowl. "Of course, sir. Here you go. Are you hunting a criminal, if I may ask, sir?"

"Why do you want to know?" the blond was suspicious. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I am sorry for not introducing myself, sir. Corporal Harry Potter at your service, sir." Harry replied, stood up and did a salute, not relaxing until Ed had saluted him back.

"How do I know that you are speaking true? With your looks, you could've murdered the real Corporal Potter and simply taken over this outpost."

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "I suppose I do look horrid. If your arrival had been announced rest assured that you would've seen me without long hair or beard, Lieutenant Colonel. This is simply a cheap way of keeping myself warm. And you still haven't introduced yourself, sir."

Ed grumbled, a small blush spreading across his cheeks. "Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Pleased to meet such an infamous person as yourself, sir," Harry said, a small smirk playing across his lips. "And as for why I ask about whom you're hunting, it's simple. If you are hunting someone in my neck of the woods, I ought to know about it so I know how to prepare. Do I need to bring out my old service revolver and more gunpowder, or is it enough with the old rifle over there?"

The younger man slurped up the last of his soup before replying. "No need to do any of that, Corporal. The man I'm searching for is an old friend of mine. I've been searching for him for the past three years, going from remote outpost to remote outpost, but I haven't found him yet."

Harry felt himself tense slightly. "Indeed, sir?"

Ed nodded, apparently warming up to the subject and taking this chance to rant slightly. "The man has been hiding himself from the world long enough, besides, we need him back in Central."

"If I may be so bold, sir, but maybe this friend of yours has a very good reason to keep himself in isolation?"

"His reasons are valid, I'll give you that, but he won't work through them on his own. Stubborn man that he is."

"How can you be so sure, sir?"

"Because I know him! And because those who know him even better have said the same! Something similar happened once before – though he didn't leave at that time, but that's only due to his friend that kept him from doing something stupid. Hell, he's probably ready to come back to his friends, but lacks the final push to do so." Ed threw off the numerous covers, wrapped a blanket around himself and walked over to the fireplace, settling down on the floor beside Harry's chair.

"I thought you said that he had to work through some problems and wouldn't return?"

"If I know him then he's worked through his problems at a logical level, but hasn't dealt with the emotional one, and for that he needs us."

The black-haired man was tense as a bowstring. If Ed looked up now he would be able to see his eye patch, recognise his profile, recognise _him_. And if the blond Lieutenant Colonel ordered him back to Central, then Harry would have to comply seeing as Ed held higher rank. Calmly as he could he picked up the ladle and filled his cup with some soup, then sipped on it, hoping that the young man didn't look up. _'Fuck. Hadn't expected for them to continue this fanatical search for me. I don't think I'm quite ready to go back yet.'_

"The truth is, I really miss the bastard," the young man muttered and looked up.

Lady Luck seemed to have finally gotten tired of Harry's hiding, and abandoned him at that crucial moment. Yellow eyes met with one black one, then focused on the eye patch that could be seen through the hair at this angle. Harry sighed. _'Bugger.'_

Ed's eyes opened wide in shock and surprise, and he jumped up with a cry. "Y-you…! You! Here! You!"

Harry's one eye glittered in amusement that he couldn't help but feel. The stuttering was quite charming, actually. "Still short in both vocabulary and stature, Fullmetal."

"Who're you callin' so short he'd fall through the cracks of the floor, you bastard?!?!?!?!" the young man raged automatically. Then he threw himself at the other figure, completely enraged at the other's calm demeanour. The wooden chair broke under their collected and sudden weight, and they ended up on the floor, Ed straddling the older man's torso, kneeling on one of the arms and pinning down the other. Finally he was holding a knife to the black-haired man's throat, and was glaring for all he was worth.

Harry didn't move at all, and was completely limp. "I see you haven't forgotten your martial arts skills, Fullmetal." He commented calmly, almost emotionlessly.

"You fucking bastard!" Ed growled. "You've been here all this time! Hiding from your friends! Sulking! Feeling sorry for yourself!"

The last two accusations struck a cord deep, deep within Harry, a cord that he had thought had shrivelled away in the past eight years. But he did nothing. _'This reminds me exceedingly of the time when I first visited the two Elric brothers after their human transmutation – except that this time the roles are reversed.'_

"You're a coward, Mustang! You promised Hughes and Hawkeye and all the others that you would become the Führer, you had the chance and yet look at you now! You're a pathetic excuse for a human being, you know that?!"

"Hn," was all Harry could bring himself to reply. Those accusations had hit him surprisingly deep, and that cord within him seemed to hum with energy that he hadn't felt in the past eight years. His magic was starting to rise to the surface, and it didn't help that the fire was so close. It would be so easy to snap his fingers…

"When the rest of the world moves on, what do you do? You _hide_! Hell! Even that person Pettigrew was more worth than you!"

The cord snapped, and in a flash Ed found himself now pinned to the ground with the older man above him, glaring. His one black eye was flashing dangerously, and with the long hair and beard it made him look like a madman. "How do you know that name, Fullmetal?!" he growled lowly.

Ed actually shivered upon the suddenly dangerous aura that surrounded his former superior. "Hughes mentioned it in his diary."

"And how, exactly, would you know about that?"

"When we couldn't find you after three years of search, Hawkeye suggested to ask Gracia if Hughes hadn't left behind something that could help us. That's how I know, and that's how we knew to search the farthest outposts in order to find you."

Harry growled and lifted himself off the younger man, then stalked to the other side of the small cabin in an attempt to put as much space between himself and Edward. "What do you want from me, Fullmetal?"

"I told you already, you bastard, it's time for you to return." Ed got up from the floor, and glared at the older man. "Stop wallowing in the past and walk into the future, Roy Mustang! You've got a strong pair of legs, dammit, start using them!"

"It's not that easy, Fullmetal." Harry refused to look at him. He hadn't known that the appearance of this particular young man would knock him so completely out of balance. He could even feel a great lump forming in his throat, and tears gather behind his eyes. Just how much control did Edward Elric hold over him?!

"Yes it is! All you have to do is forgive yourself. It was a war, people die. It's cruel, but it's the truth! Don't let the weight of the dead pull you down with them!" Ed walked over to Harry, and put a strong hand on the taller man's shoulder. "Let it go."

Harry was shaking now. Eight years of loneliness and hardship were being undone in less than ten minutes. It would've been laughable if it hadn't been so pathetic. "I've become the thing that I hate the most in the world. I've become just like the person who killed my parents." He muttered in defeat.

"You are nothing like Tom Riddle!" Ed insisted, shaking Harry's shoulder slightly. "From what I can gather, Riddle enjoyed killing, revelled in it! The fact that you're out here slowly killing yourself in a misguided attempt to atone, proves this!"

"I see Hughes wrote absolutely everything down into that diary of his."

"Forget that, dammit!" Ed turned him around, pushed Harry against the wall to make sure that he couldn't escape, and grabbed the taller man's face with surprising gentleness. Their eyes met and held. "You had the right idea, you were on the correct path when you wanted to become the Führer in order to fix things."

"That was a long time ago, Ed. And look how that ended up."

"The homunculi were trying to turn the city of Central into one giant transmutation circle! What appeared to be maintenance work on roads and buildings has been exposed to be not so innocent after all. Without you killing Pride it would've ended up much, much worse! The citizens of Central would've ended up as sacrifices to create the Philosophers Stone for the homunculi!"

"It would never work," Harry insisted, swallowing thickly. "My chance passed all those years ago."

"Now you have the chance to try again! We're all waiting for you to come back, all of us have managed to attain important and useful positions, and Hawkeye and Falman have kept your network of informants alive and working. All we need now is someone who knows what they are doing to lead us."

"The current Führer-"

"He's an idiot! We're keeping close eye on the man after what happened with King Bradley, and although the current Führer isn't a homunculi, he's a spineless worm! The man doesn't have enough courage to negotiate peace-treaties that will benefit both parts! Amestris will be overrun by the neighbouring countries if this keeps up!"

The lump in his throat had grown to the size of a dragon's egg, and his tears were _this_ close to the surface. He was pale and his shaking had worsened, his hands clutching onto Ed's upper arms. He wondered when that had happened. The people he had left behind in Amestris couldn't have done something like this for a murderer like him. It was not possible, it was insane, it was… it was the simple truth, he realised as he gazed into the golden eyes of the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"I am a mere Corporal now, Ed, I'd have to start all over again in the army hierarchy and that could take years." Even to himself the excuse sounded feeble, and was half-choked with overwhelming emotions.

"I believe you've heard of Major General Olivier Milla Armstrong?" Ed smiled, knowing that he had won. "She seems to hate the spineless weakling that is our current Führer, and this once she has agreed to help us and will promote you back to Brigadier General. And from there the road to the top is short."

Harry blinked in surprise. "I thought that woman disliked me."

"She dislikes the Führer even more because he has removed her from her HQs here in the mountains, and has called her back to Central where he spends most of his time trying to flirt with her and all the other female officers. He's even done what you threatened to do, and forced all female officers to wear miniskirts. At first it was cool, but then women stopped enlisting and dropped out of the military, and now there are hardly any women left. This does not make for a very happy military." Ed was grinning by now.

The black-haired man chuckled but then unnoticed the chuckles turned to sobs, and after all this time the tears finally flowed. Tears for those who had died on both sides in the Ishbal rebellion, those who had been killed by Scar, those people who had died thanks to the homunculi and for Mäes Hughes. For Gracia for losing her husband and Elicia who had to grow up without a father. For all the pain Riza, Fuery, Falman, Havoc, Breda, the Rockbells and the Elrics had been put through. And finally he allowed himself to truly grieve for those who had died thanks to Voldemort and his blasted Death Eaters.

He was hugging Fullmetal fiercely like a lifeline, and Edward didn't seem to mind, but was hugging him right back just as fiercely. They stood there for an unknown amount of time. It could've been minutes or hours, Harry didn't know or care. He finally managed to get himself back under control, drawing a few shaky breaths. "Dammit, Ed, since when did you get to be so mature that you offer me advice?" he muttered.

The smaller man grinned up at him, his own cheeks wet. "Bastard Colonel."

Harry snorted, feeling lighter and better and more_ alive_ than he had in ages. He raised a hand and gently wiped at the wet cheeks of the blond. "Why did you cry?"

"For you." Came the reply. "You would never cry for your own losses like this. Sure, you would mourn them, but never cry. As you cried for the others, I cried for you."

"How very poetic of you, Fullmetal. And exactly when did you get to know me so well?" there was only amusement and fondness in his voice.

"Hughes' diary. It is a very interesting read."

"I think perhaps I need to try coming back to Central, after all. If for nothing else than to destroy that accursed diary of Hughes'. What else did that fool write about me?"

Ed laughed. Neither seemed to notice that they were still standing in each other's arms, nor did they seem to care. "He mentioned that it was his life's greatest goal to see you settled happily with someone – it didn't matter if it was a man or a woman."

Harry suddenly tensed again. Hughes wouldn't write down the fact that Harry found himself attracted to the young man currently standing in his arms. Would he?

"And he also wrote down a certain something concerning your feelings towards me."

Apparently he would. If Hughes wasn't already dead, he would've been in some serious danger. Harry released the young man and straightened. "I assure you, Fullmetal, you need not worry about-"

Edward cut him off in one of the nicest ways ever. He kissed him. It was thoroughly awkward and scruffy due to the beard, and not at all what one would expect of a first kiss. Yet it was also the most perfect kiss ever, in Harry's humble opinion. But he had to make absolutely sure that the young man wanted this.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Of course not."

"I'm almost twenty years your senior, you bean-sized annoyance."

"Don't care." Ed replied and kissed him again. Or tried to. "You need to get rid of the beard, Roy."

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying, Fullmetal?"

"Not at all, bastard." The smaller man ran his hands through the wild, long hair. "This needs to go as well."

Harry rolled his one eye and grumbled. "Should've left you out there in the snow, damn it."

The younger man laughed, and tugged slightly on the strands in his grasp. "Come on, bastard, lets get back to Central!"

-x-x-x-x-

There. Please tell me what you think!

This isn't beta-ed since my beta doesn't like slash of any kind, so excuse the mistakes.

I hope I didn't get characters too much OOC, and I hope that this is acceptable. I tried to incorporate things from the anime and the movie and the manga, all which differ slightly. Hopefully it was somewhat successful. I'm even toying with an idea for a sequel for this particular one-shot, if you're interested.

Until next time then! (Hopefully!)


	2. HP & Fullmetal Alchemist II 'slash'

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Hiroku Arakawa.

**Author's Note: **I'm glad to see that you people liked the previous one-shot. I hope you like this as well. It's a sequel to the first one!

**Crossover:** Harry Potter & Fullmetal Alchemist.

**Series:** Sequel to Oneshot # 1

**Pairing:** Harry(Roy)/Ed

**Warnings:** Slight AU in the FMA-world, and heavy SLASH. Two men doing the nasty. The horizontal tango. Ye be warned!

**Rating:** M

**One-shot #2: Ready, Steady, GO! (Part II)**

It had been surprisingly – and somewhat worryingly – easy to slide back into the hierarchy of the State Army. He was welcomed back with open arms from his friends (and a slap then hug from Riza) which was somewhat expected; but people that he had previously disliked, or that had disliked him, were now suddenly flocking to him like moths to the flame – figuratively and literally.

"The new Führer can't be _that_ bad, can he?" Harry asked his friends once after having been visited, and offered assistance, by one of those people that had previously really, really, _really_ hated him. "I mean, sure, I've noticed some deterioration in the army since I came back – and on the way back to Central as well – but _this_… this is just…" he trailed off in shock.

"Better believe it, boss," Havoc puffed on his ever-present cigarette. "And, as you will soon discover, it only gets worse."

Truer words had never been spoken. A month after having returned to Central, Harry was ready to go back to his hermit-ways simply to rid himself of the mess that the stupid idiot of a Führer had made of the army. Women were considered less than men, and their only task in the army seemed to be to entertain the men in any and all ways possible – it was no wonder that most women had already quit. The training regime and the various monthly performance-tests which had been strictly enforced under King Bradley, were now nothing more than a few lines on a paper found in a file in a box in the dusty back-corner of some storehouse. The army was growing its own seeds of destruction! If this kept up, then the neighbouring countries could simply wait until all of Amestris had become as lazy and as lily-livered as the current Führer, and then simply march in and take whatever they wanted without any resistance whatsoever.

In an attempt to fight this deterioration of the army, Harry and his allies started to subtly change things. Food rations were reduced back to normal sizes again, and there was no more rich-man's food – like caviar or lobster – on the menu. Performance-tests were reinstated around the various HQs and outposts – though not to the same degree as before, that would've brought on some suspicion – and most soldiers who failed these were thrown out of the army, while a few were sent back to boot camp to get into shape. The boot camps and training was now run by some of the strictest people that longed for the State Military to return to its former glory, but, once again, they needed to be careful and not do too much in too little time. All in all it was thoroughly frustrating and very slow work, and more than once the Führer nearly caught on. Despite being a spineless whelp, the man was smarter than most gave him credit for. Luckily, this time all the important people were working with Harry instead of against him, and the Führer's suspicions were diverted and calmed over and over again.

Of course, there were still officers – like Olivier Milla Armstrong – that enforced a strict discipline and who refused to let their soldiers fall to ruin under fast-food and laziness, and Harry found himself thanking the heavens every day for these people. Without them getting the State Army back on its feet would've been an impossible task.

But in all situations there were also people who insisted on doing their best to hinder any and all progress, and Harry met up with a great deal of these before they realised that it wasn't smart to mess with the famous Flame Alchemist. The first time someone had directly come up to him and challenged him, Harry and Ed had been walking by the now-rarely-used training grounds, discussing what needed to be done in order to negotiate a new and better peace-treaty between Amestris and Creata to the west and Areugo to the south.

"How about better trade-options?" Ed suggested looking down at the map. "Areugo has rich mineral and gold mines, and we need a great deal of those. And Creata has all those spices that they're willing to sell. This could open up for more trade and friendship between us."

"Hmm, perhaps," Harry replied thoughtfully. "But what could we offer in return?"

At this point their conversation had been interrupted rudely by jeers and shouts of insults, and general ruckus. They both looked up and found themselves staring straight at a group of five Privates and one Sergeant. They were obviously new because with their looks and disrespectful behaviour they would never have been admitted into the State Army while under King Bradley – one of the few things that came from the actions of that homunculi. He was a damn good Führer as long as he wasn't working towards his own goals.

"Look at those two bootlickers! All prim and proper!" the Sergeant sneered.

"I think that blond one is a Lieutenant Colonel and the other seems to be a Brid… Brigra… Bligarder General." The man had to be both illiterate and dumb if he couldn't pronounce a simple 'Brigadier General'.

A man spit on the ground in front of Harry and Ed. "Probably had to do a couple of people to attain their ranks. How is it being someone's bitches, eh?!"

"Who are you, old man?!" one of the Privates shouted, his uniform dirty and dishevelled. "Old people like you shouldn't be allowed into the army anymore. Leave it to the younger generations!"

"If this is what the younger generations are like," Harry commented calmly to a fuming Ed, "then I can't see the world lasting for another hundred years."

Ed smirked, though it was clear that his anger hadn't abated. "Lets get going, Roy. We have that meeting with Major General Armstrong to get to." He and Harry would've calmly walked past the sextet at this point, but their way was blocked when the six stepped in front of them. The glitter in their eyes told all, and Harry and Ed resigned themselves to being slightly late for the meeting with the Major General. These six were out for a fight, and they wouldn't leave them alone without it.

"Oh yeah! The Major General's a hottie, isn't she?" one of the six muttered perversely.

"I wish I had a _private meeting_ with her!" another practically drooled. "Then I'd show her a thing or two!"

The Sergeant leaned closer to Harry and Ed, a nasty smirk on his face. "So, how is it to fuck with the Major General? She's a wildcat in bed, right? How exactly do you do it? From behind? Against the wall? And how many times do you have to do it before she promotes you?"

Ed had been turning more and more red in the face during this. These men were insulting one of his best friends' elder sister, and said sister was also a person that the Fullmetal Alchemist respected greatly. He wouldn't simply stand by and allow these… these _ingrates_ to insult the Major General. Forget alchemy! He could and would take these fools down with his own two hands with no trouble at all!

Harry, who had remained mostly calm during this exchange, quickly raised an arm in front of Ed to keep him from doing something rash. Don't get him wrong, Harry was furious that the army had fallen so deep to allow such disrespect, but to beat these six up now had to potential to destroy everything they had worked for.

"Easy there, Fullmetal." He muttered quietly to the blond. Ed looked at him in rage, about to demand why they weren't defending the woman who had made it possible for Harry to slide so quickly back into the army, but he stopped before he could say anything stupid. Ed recognised the stony, emotionless look in that lone black eye, and he knew that before the day was over that this particular sextet would be far gone and would never get the chance to join any military ever again.

"Get their names and remember their faces, then destroy them through the legal means." The Fullmetal Alchemist muttered in realisation. It was a sentence from Hughes' diary, one that – according to Hughes – had been stated by none other than the Flame Alchemist himself.

Harry smirked slightly. "Exactly. I see that Hughes' diary is good for something, Fullmetal. It filled that empty head of yours with some useful knowledge! Too bad it couldn't do something about your height as well."

Ed twitched, but refrained from replying right there. If he showed disrespect to someone of higher rank, then it would send really bed signs towards the disrespectful sextet that was still jabbering on and on, not noticing that their two cornered superiors weren't listening at all. Instead, all the short blond could do was lowly grumble a threat. "Just wait until we get to training and I'll show you exactly what I've learned."

"Training?" one of the Privates parroted. Apparently he had managed to catch on to that one little word of the entire conversation. "Hey, boys! These two still bother with regular training! Can you believe it?!"

"Whatever for?" another mused. "Amestris is the most powerful country. There is no need to train for anything at all."

At this point Harry and Ed shared one of those these-people-are-really-stupid-god-help-us-all looks.

"I have an idea!" the Sergeant suddenly exclaimed. "Lets test these so-called skills of theirs! There's six of us and only two of them! We can take them easily, boys!"

"I am afraid that we don't have the time for this right now," Harry stepped into the conversation. This was going too far. "Step aside and let us pass."

No one moved.

"Are you disobeying your superior officers?" Ed growled. Oh, how he wished he could simply clap his hands together and get rid of this trash.

"We weren't aware that we had been given an order. Sir." The Sergeant sneered, adding the 'sir' as an afterthought.

'_Apparently our subtle attempts at change haven't worked if riffraff like this still gets into the army. It seems to me that it's time to pull out all the stops, and bring out the big guns – so to speak._' Harry thought to himself, then stepped forwards, staring the Sergeant strait into the eyes. "Do not make me spell it out to you, Sergeant! Move. Out. Of. The. Way. _Now_."

The Sergeant's eyes narrowed but he seemed to back down, retreating a few steps and turning around. Then suddenly he let out a mocking laugh, and whirled around again, a large, dangerous knife that was most definitely not allowed into the HQs, held in one hand. "Who do you think you are, you old bastard, to give orders to me?!?!? I'll remove that remaining eye of yours for that!!!!"

The man's little speech and wide, clumsy, and uselessly flashy movements, gave his opponent more than enough time to see the attack coming and preparing for it. Before the sextet really understood what had happened, the Sergeant found himself face down on the ground, held there by a booted foot placed between his shoulder blades. The arm with the knife was held in a vice-like grip, slowly being twisted around until the knife dropped harmlessly to the ground, and the man himself cried out in pain. Harry didn't even twitch at the cry, and simply stared at the rest of them with his eyebrow raised. The five Privates suddenly remembered that they had lots and lots of things that needed to be done yesterday, and disappeared faster than one could blink.

Ed smirked. No matter what kind of front he put up and whether he used alchemy or not, Roy Mustang was far from useless and defenceless. The black-haired, one-eyed man was closing in on fifty years of age, and yet he looked to be no more than in his early- or mid-thirties. It made the blond wonder slightly. Exactly where did Roy Mustang come from?

'_With his looks he could easily come from Xing,'_ the Fullmetal Alchemist mused as he watched the other man twisting the downed Sergeant's arm again. _'But he doesn't have the characteristic slanted eyes. Perhaps he comes from a mixed heritage?'_

With a snort of disgust Harry – not aware of the other alchemist's musings – allowed the Sergeant to get up and run off with his tail between his legs. "Pathetic. Truly pathetic." Harry muttered as he and Ed continued their trek towards the office of Major General Olivier Milla Armstrong.

They got to their meeting half-an-hour late, and everyone in the room made their displeasure known with dark looks. This was a somewhat secret meeting, and most of the people there could only leave their respective posts for a certain amount of time before someone came looking for them or got suspicious. Once the two explained exactly why they were late, the displeased atmosphere in the room changed. Alex Luis Armstrong tore off his shirt in his usual manner, declaring war upon the sextet that had dared say such things about his family and dared to attack two of his best friends. Riza Hawkeye got a really, _really_ scary look in her eye, and muttered something about shooting practice. Havoc, Fuery, Breda and Falman shook their heads and muttered angrily, while the others in the room ranged from shocked to furious to disappointed.

The Major General herself froze up slightly, then shook it off with a snort, and demanded for the meeting to finally start. Years later, when they were all old and grey, she reluctantly – and under heavy influence of alcohol – admitted that had it been up to her Harry and Ed would've been promoted for ridding the army of such trash.

-x-x-x-x-

As Harry had predicted, it was time to stop the subtle acts and to bring out the big guns. Especially since the elections were up. It was a new thing that had been instated after the fiasco with King Bradley and the homunculi. The people now could vote on the person they wanted to be the next Führer, though those in the army – especially the officers – had the final say in things. And even though the masses didn't have the same power as they had back on earth, Harry recognised the power that they _did_ hold, and played on that. He and his group of people ran in the election, openly opposing the current Führer and revealing the shoddy state of the State Army in order to shock the population into action. They presented previously worst-case scenarios that now seemed more and more real, and presented their suggestions to changes in the country and the army, and slowly but surely they pulled ahead of the other parties, finally winning the entire thing by a landslide.

There was a large party held in Gracia's home – which had been their base of operations during the election – the evening when the results were announced by a beaming now-Second Lieutenant Kain Fuery.

"I can't believe we did it!" the man exclaimed happily, hugging the person closest to himself, which turned out to be a ten-year-old Elicia.

Sergeant Denny Brosh had pulled out a guitar – a secret passion of his, apparently – and was now playing an upbeat melody, soon joined by none other than Riza Hawkeye on a flute and Breda on a fiddle he had had Ed transmute for him. While the three played, several of the others were dragged out onto the improvised dance floor. Alphonse having pulled a laughing Winry into the dance, Havoc elegantly leading Gracia through the steps, and Alex Luis Armstrong swinging about with the miniature Pinaco Rockbell in his arms.

It was a joyous and truly comical sight, Harry reflected with a small smile on his face. He was standing out on the small balcony, leaning back against the railing, and watching the spectacle inside. He had come out here when the news had been announced, needing some time in quiet solitude to let it all sink in. Quite frankly, he hadn't had much hope of winning this election at all. They had tried to present themselves as a group that would focus on both civilian and military needs, but hadn't promised things that they knew couldn't happen, and Harry had been afraid that they hadn't been good enough. Yet look at him now! As of tomorrow he was the new Führer, with hundreds of thousands of lives in his hands on a daily basis. It boggled the mind.

"So this is where you've hidden yourself." Ed's amused voice brought Harry out of his thoughts, and the blond man stepped out onto the balcony as well. "Congratulations on your win."

Harry smiled. "I could not have done it without you people, and you know it. Don't try to make yourself seem insignificant and small, Fullmetal; modesty doesn't become you, and you are short enough as it is."

"Short?!" Ed growled, his eyebrow twitching. "Could a shorty do _this_?!" and with that said, the short blond grabbed the other man's face and pulled him down to his level, promptly kissing him.

Harry couldn't help but smirk slightly in amusement, then he pushed those thoughts out of his head, and concentrated solely on the kiss itself. He wound his arms around Ed, pulling the shorter man flush up against this body, and proceeded to take control over the kiss.

Since Harry had been brought out of seclusion little more than eight months ago, the two of them hadn't had the time to do much with regards to their relationship. A few stolen kisses here and there, along with the occasional touch on the arm or even hug, was all they had allowed themselves or had time for. There had been too much to do, to set right, though both of them had felt the attraction that was between them, and both had woken up more than once with raging erections or wet sheets after dreaming about each other.

However, now that things were finally on the right path and would start to wind down, they could start to really explore the relationship between them to its full extent, and Harry had to admit that he truly looked forwards to it.

A quiet whimper from Ed and an unconscious attempt to move closer, drew Harry out of his thoughts and the kiss. Lust-fogged golden eyes opened slowly, tan cheeks dusted with a bit of light pink, and wet, kiss-swollen lips almost made Harry swoop back in for another kiss, but he kept himself under tight control, and resisted the temptation. Barely.

"Fullmetal." He panted lightly. "Ed."

"Huh?" came the somewhat unfocused reply from the blond that was now leaning rather heavily against him. "Whazzit?"

"I have to ask you one last time," Harry muttered lowly, ignoring the music and the laughter from inside the house. "Are you absolutely certain that you want this, Ed? I am twenty years your elder and your superior officer. People will talk and your reputation may get shredded. Then there are those people who hate such things on principle, and-"

"One more word out of you, bastard Colonel, and I'll kick you where no man should be hurt." Ed growled at him, but then softened slightly, a small smile on his face. "I appreciate what you're trying to do – actually find it kinda sweet – but you don't need to worry about it. I'm a grown man now, I can make my own choices, and my choice is you. Everyone else can be damned to the other side of the Gate."

Harry smiled slightly, leaning his forehead against Ed's. "It's Führer now, Fullmetal."

"Not until tomorrow."

"You're going to be the death of me yet, Edward Elric." The one-eyed man remarked with a grin, then swooped in to again claim those lips that had been teasing and tempting him throughout the entire conversation.

If anyone noticed them out there on the shadowy balcony, they politely ignored them and simply went back to the celebrations. When it was time for people to leave, more that one person noted with amusement that the new Führer and the blond Lieutenant Colonel left together, in the same direction, and were unconsciously walking very close to each other, their hands clasped, fingers entwined. The on-lookers found it very amusing to watch the couple bicker back and forth, and throwing well-meaning insults, until they were out of sight and out of hearing.

Riza and Winry then turned to the others standing there, and stretched out their hands. "We told you that those two would end up together, and we've won the bet. Now pay up!"

Breda, Falman, Brosh, Havoc, Fuery and a few others grumbled but pulled out the required amount of money, and handed it to the two women.

"Better hope that nii-san doesn't find out about this." Alphonse remarked, though there was pure amusement in his tone. "Or _Führer_ Roy Mustang." He added, with special emphasis on the 'Führer'.

Roy Mustang was known to carry a grudge, and just the thought of what he could do to them now that he had become the Commander-in-Chief made several people wince and swear off gambling for the rest of their lives.

As for Harry and Ed, well, there was very little sleep for them that night.

-x-x-x-x-

When he looked back at the sixth months since becoming the leader of the country, Harry found himself rather amazed. The changes that had happened during those months were almost phenomenal, and the State Army was almost completely back on its feet. There was still work to do, of course, eight years was a long time to influence something, but most of the remaining problems were small and didn't need the direct attention of the Führer. The State Army wasn't the only thing that had gone through changes. The rest of Amestris had has well, with pretty much improvements all over. And as for the neighbouring countries, new peace-treaties had been discussed and argued over and then signed once all parties involved were more or less happy with the outcome. All in all, things were looking up.

'_And not only for Amestris,' _Harry mused to himself one morning in bed as he watched the other occupant sleep.

Edward Elric was the best thing that could've happened to him, in Harry's humble opinion – and in the opinion of most other people as well. The blond, short-tempered alchemist was just the thing to keep him on his toes and away from depression. They snipped, they argued, and they teased each other. They listened, comforted and helped each other when needed. They were the best of friends, and they were devoted lovers.

'_And – lets face it! – the sex is great as well,'_ the black-haired man thought to himself in amusement. Not only had Ed pushed his way into the military all those years ago, he had slowly been pushing his way into Harry's heart, and now, finally, had managed to push his way into Harry's home as well. Harry may have invited Ed to join the military and made it possible, and he may have been warned about his falling for the Fullmetal Alchemist. But he had been utterly shocked one morning about a month ago, when he woke up, and on his way to the small bathroom realising that approximately every second thing that he saw belonged to Ed. There were books, pictures, shoes, one side of the closet and a few of the drawers in the chest-of-drawers were dedicated to Ed's clothes, and in the bathroom the younger man's toothbrush, comb could be found sitting innocently on one side.

Harry had simply stood there in the living room, feeling like an idiot, as the realisation washed over him that the blond alchemist was now living with him. _'When the hell did that happen?!'_

It bothered him slightly, he admitted as he went through his morning rituals. With previous lovers he had been very careful about everything, and none of them could've moved into his apartment without him noticing it. Harry pulled on a pair of soft, old draw-string pants that rode low on his hips, and proceeded to towel his hair dry while walking on automatic through the apartment towards the bedroom. His worried musings on exactly how Ed could've moved in without being noticed were cut short as he entered said bedroom, and spotted the object of his thoughts laid out on the bed, limbs in every which way.

Ten minutes later he realised that he was staring, and couldn't help the amusement he felt as he went over to the closet in order to find a shirt. _'I suddenly understand how Fullmetal could've moved in without me noticing. Gods, I'm turning into a bloody sap.'_

"What are you thinking about?" Ed's sleep-fogged voice brought Harry back to the present.

"Nothing important." Harry replied with a smirk. "About time you woke up, Fullmetal, it's almost eleven o'clock."

The small blond yawned and stretched slightly. "Really? Well then, that begets the question of what exactly you're doing still in bed. You're usually up with the sun."

"This is of my rare days off, and I fully intend to use it to laze about doing absolutely nothing at all," the black-haired man snuggled down into the covers, then promptly pushed the other occupant of the bed, out of said bed. "So go make some breakfast or something. Perhaps I can now sleep in peace without worrying about you hogging the blankets in the middle of the night during the coldest winter of the century. For being so small, Fullmetal, you sure do take up much space."

Ed simply sat on the floor for a few minutes, blinking in surprise and shock at his sudden situation, then, with an mock-enraged shout, he jumped back onto the bed, initiating a full-scale wrestle match that soon ended up as something completely different. Harry found himself on his back, the head of his erection enveloped in Edward's warm mouth, moaning and hissing as his cock was sucked and licked, then practically growling in angry protest when the wonderful treatment stopped.

He opened his one eye, gazing up at the younger man that had suddenly straddled him. Ed was stretching himself, hips twitching and erection leaking pre-cum, and was making the most delicious noises ever. Then the blond grabbed Harry's cock and held it steady as he slowly lowered onto it. Harry grabbed the slim hips, helping to guide the blond, and stopping the progress when Ed made a pained whimper.

"Damnit, Ed." He growled. "Didn't stretch enough. Get off."

"Nuh-uh!" the other insisted, managing to push himself down a bit more. "Want you inside."

"You'll hurt yourself, you idiot."

Ed growled at the attempts to push him away, and fell forwards onto Harry's chest, attacking the older man's nipples with a vengeance. When he deemed his lover well and truly distracted he sat up again, and finished what he had started, pushing himself completely down on the large cock with a cry where the pleasure outweighed the pain. Ed's fingers were spread on Harry's heaving chest as the blond tried to get used to the intrusion. Harry was gripping Ed's hips harshly, knowing that he was leaving bruises, but not caring at the moment. He was too worried about Ed right now, holding as still as he could to give the younger man some time.

"Still no patience, I see, Fullmetal." The one-eyed man panted trying to ignore every instinct which demanded for him to simply pound the blond into the mattress.

"Shut up, bastard Colonel." Ed panted right back, and moved his hips drawing out a hiss from his lover. "I know you love it when I do this."

Harry's reply was lost in the ensuing pleasure. The room was filled with moans and groans, whimpers and cries of pleasure, and pleas to go faster or harder or deeper. At some point Harry reversed their positions so that Ed was lying down and Harry was pounding into the smaller man, and they could both feel the coil of pleasure in their bellies wind up tighter and tighter until it finally sprung free. When Harry next managed to coherently look at the clock it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. He simply groaned and let his head drop back onto the pillow, pulling Ed closer to himself. Ed was almost purring, gently tracing small patterns on Harry's chest with his fingertips.

"Roy?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

Ed hit him lightly on the chest. "Bastard. You know what I mean."

Harry chuckled. "Go ahead and ask, shorty."

A blonde eyebrow twitched, but that was all. "I was just wondering about your family."

The older man blinked in surprise and looked down at the blond head resting against his chest. "My family? You know they are dead, Ed. What's brought this on?"

"I do know that, but I've never seen any pictures of them," Ed looked up, golden eyes meeting with one black one. "You never talk about them, and what little I know I've been told by Ron and Hermione on the rare occasion they drop by. I mean, I don't want to pry or anything, but you know everything about me and Alphonse and about everyone else as well, but we hardly know anything about you and-"

Harry kissed Ed in order to shut up his nervous babbling. "Breathe, Fullmetal."

Ed pinked slightly, his lip stuck out in a pout, but he refused to back down and simply stared at the older man until Harry sighed and sat up in the bed and stretched, before getting out and pulling on a pair of boxers and heading towards the door. "Roy?"

"Give me a minute, Ed," Harry said over his shoulder. "I'll be back in a second, and then I'll answer your questions. I just have to find something."

"Okay…?" Ed trailed off and watched as the black-haired man left the room. He heard his older lover rummage through boxes in the small room they used as a storage-cupboard, with the occasional curse reaching Ed's ears. Fifteen minutes later Harry walked back into the bedroom, a well-worn photo album in his hands. He settled back onto the bed, and Ed quickly settled between his legs, leaning back against the taller man's chest, looking curiously at the old photo album.

"What's this?" the blond asked, turning his head enough so that he could see his lover's face.

Harry smirked. "You wanted pictures and I've brought them."

"This contains pictures of your family?" Ed lit up. "Are there any baby-pictures of you in there?"

"I do believe there are, somewhere towards the end." He opened the album to the first page, having already frozen the pictures to keep them from moving. The first picture was of James and Lily on their wedding day, with Sirius and Remus in the shot as well. Pettigrew was supposed to be there as well, but Harry had frozen the picture when the rat had been out of it.

"Your parents?" Ed stated more than asked, as he stared down at the old photograph. Since it was so old there were no colours, but the young couple practically radiated happiness and joy.

"Lily Evans and James Potter."

"Potter? Shouldn't it be James Mustang?"

Harry shook his head. "I changed my name. Too many memories connected with the other – or, perhaps, too few memories. Depends on how one looks at it."

"So what was your name before you changed it?"

"Harry. Harry James Potter. I kept my middle name, but changed the others."

Ed sat up slightly and turned around, observing Harry with great concentration, before he smiled and settled back down. "I like Roy Mustang better. Hmm... Führer Roy James Mustang. Sounds very regal for some strange reason."

Harry chuckled and turned the page. Next was a picture of the four Marauders standing together. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't been able to keep Pettigrew out of this picture, the rat had refused to leave no matter what. "My father when he was seventeen. Next is Remus Lupin, a friend of his. Unfortunately Remus died not long before I came to Amestris. The one standing on Remus' right, is Sirius Black. He's dead as well."

"And the short fellow at the edge of the photograph?" Ed asked slightly hesitantly, having an idea about whom it could be.

"Peter Pettigrew." Harry answered shortly, and moved on to the next picture.

The next couple of hours were spent looking at the photos, and Harry telling stories of his parents' schooldays – heavily edited of course. Ed found himself laughing more than once when hearing about some of the Marauders' exploits and pranks. The blond hadn't moved from his lover's arms, and didn't intend to move anytime soon. It wasn't often that they could spend the entire day in bed, and it was even more rare to get the older man to talk about his past. The one-eyed man was a very private person most of the time, and Ed felt privileged to be told such intimate knowledge. The only sad thing about it all seemed to be the fact that most of the people in the pictures were dead.

"What colours did they have?" Ed asked suddenly, gazing at the last picture in the album which was of Lily and James. The couple was beaming happily at the camera, a baby boy held in the woman's arms.

"Excuse me?"

"What was your mother's hair-colour? Eye-colour? Your father's eye-colour?" Ed elaborated, looking up at him.

"My father was dark of hair and eyes, black and dark-brown respectively. My mother had the greenest eyes you've ever seen, like emeralds. Her hair was the purest red." Harry smiled fondly.

"Red like the sunset? Like a strawberry? Like blood?"

"Red like fire."

Ed snorted fondly. "Now I know where you got your pyromaniac-tendencies from."

"Shut up, shorty."

-x-x-x-x-

There, finished. Please tell me what you think.

This is not beta-ed, since my beta doesn't like slash, so excuse the mistakes.

You know, this was supposed to go in a totally different direction, with an evil wizard hell-bent on killing Harry popping up to destroy the peace, before Harry saved the day once more. Instead it ended up as this fluffy and slashy piece, focusing on Ed and Harry's relationship and the mess the useless Führer made of the army. Even Ron and Hermione got practically ignored! Perhaps, in the future, I'll write yet another sequel to this, make it into a series, or something. Who knows?

Thanks to those who reviewed:

Hikari Kaiya, mscs3, Blades of Silver, Lady-Slytherin-Snape, Adnexus, Really Frozen Phoenix, RoxasIsReal13, firefantasy, Black Nyx, SolonnaKethsar, Honebar, Fuji the Hobbit, Falling Right Side-Up, limes-eye, Morrolan, lildevil425, Krinse-Katze, Firehedgehog, polabear, cherryi, and Lady-of-the-gray.


	3. HP & Final Fantasy X 'slash'

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Square Enix.

**Author's Note:** I'm glad you liked the previous one-shots! Please enjoy this as well, and hopefully review at the end!

**Crossover: **Harry Potter & Final Fantasy X.

**Pairing:** Tidus/Harry

**Warning:** AU in the Potter-world after OOP, and possibly slight deviations from canon in the FFX-world.

**Rating:** R (just in case)

**One-shot #3: Otherworld**

It was… too much, Harry decided as he wandered through the empty corridors of Hogwarts. Voldemort's machinations, Dumbledore's secret-keeping, the fight in the Department of Mysteries which had led to his friends getting seriously injured, the stupid prophecy that hung over him, Sirius' death… It was all far too much!

How the devil did the entire wizarding world expect a fifteen-year old child to save them from a megalomaniac with decades more experience? Especially when, instead of giving Harry the necessary training, they kept secrets from him and told him it was for his own good, that he deserved to have a childhood. Honestly, they were simply setting up a lamb for the slaughter at this rate.

Harry entered a random door, only to stop up in slight surprise when he found the Mirror of Erised in the room. The large mirror was half-way covered with a previously-white sheet, though the moths had made a sizable attack on said sheet. The entire room and everything in it was covered with such a thick layer of dust and spider web, that one was liable to think it had been abandoned like this for over a century rather than simply four years.

'_I wonder what I would see if I looked in the Mirror now?' _the green-eyed teen mused to himself as he walked towards said peace of furniture. _'Just one peek and I'll be gone.'_ He pulled off the large sheet, and ended up in a coughing-fit as the inch-thick layer of dust all around him was disturbed. Brushing the rest of the dust and spider web off of the mirror, Harry took a deep breath and stepped forwards.

He didn't see his family this time. Rather he saw himself dressed in muggle clothing, surrounded by passing people who nodded to his mirror self, shouted to him, waved, smiled, and other variations of a friendly greeting. What was notable that no one was staring at the famous scar, they were staring at Harry. Just Harry.

The mirror-Harry waved and smiled and shouted greetings back, a peaceful, relaxed and happy look on his face. Then the mirror-Harry turned back to the real Harry and grinned.

Harry watched his mirror self, and suddenly understood what the Mirror of Erised was showing him. Harry simply wanted to be left in peace until he felt ready to take up the fight with Voldemort. It may be selfish, but after everything that the wizarding world expected of him, he was entitled to being slightly selfish.

'_The mirror-me looks so happy, so relaxed.' _Harry thought to himself, his hands rising to settle on the cold surface of the mirror. _'I just wish to go somewhere where I can be simply me for a while. Until I have had time to think things through, until I feel ready to fight Voldemort. I just want to be left alone in peace.'_

Harry was, by now, leaning his forehead against the mirror's surface. A song begin to sound softly through the room, calm and warming, and for a moment Harry thought that Fawkes had showed up. However, he discarded that notion when he noticed that the Mirror of Erised was glowing softly, and that the song seemed to come from his own mirror-self. The Harry in the mirror kept on singing, the words not really distinguishable, and he smiled happily at the shocked real-life Harry. The surface of the mirror rippled like water, and Harry could suddenly put his hands through – it felt like pushing ones hands through a thin, jelly-like substance.

The green-eyed teen stood indecisive for only a minute before he took out his wand and stepped through the mirror. For once in his life he just wanted to be selfish and do something for himself. He would be back, he knew that instinctively. It was his destiny, and the prophecy bound him to Voldemort, so they would meet up again. But right now Harry wanted peace and time to grieve and to come to terms with things, and he wanted to be _just_ Harry.

'_Hopefully Ron and Hermione will understand.'_

-x-x-x-x-

Zanarkand was as close to Eden as human society would ever come. A very sci-fi and high-tech paradise, at that. The buildings, the roads, the houses, the everything in this strange city was high-tech. Most things could be recognised for what they were at once, some took a bit more imagination, and yet others one needed an instruction manual to explain, but they were never too hard to use once one understood the trick to them. Yet, despite this superior technology, the people of Zanarkand still seemed to appreciate the more old-fashioned way of doing things, like doing dishes, vacuum cleaning, ironing clothing, and so on. It was an odd mix of new and old, and it gave a rather charming feel to it all. Of course, bad things still happened, and people got killed, robbed, etc, but it didn't happen all that often. Actually, it hardly happened, and that was the one thing that freaked Harry out more than anything else. Human society needed both the good and the bad to function properly, and yet here Zanarkand was doing splendidly with a minimal dose of the bad.

Harry had been wandering the city for almost a year and a half now. The weather never got too bad or too cold, and he had had no trouble sleeping outside in one of the numerous, beautiful parks. And when he got hungry he had quickly learned that he could simply walk up to a bakery or an inn, and as for some food – and perhaps a bath as well – in exchange for helping out with various tasks before opening time. Most people were very kind and helpful, and before Harry knew it he had developed a reputation amongst the inns and bakeries for being a nice and honest young man, always willing to help out for practically nothing.

It did help, of course, that he was the only one in the entire city of Zanarkand who knew how to make butterbeer. Harry had learned to transfigure water into butterbeer thanks to Seamus Finnigan's obsession and numerous attempts at turning water into whiskey, and one night he had introduced the drink to the citizens of eastern Zanarkand. Though the butterbeer wasn't up to the real-deal's standard, the people at the inn had loved it, and it had quickly become _the_ most popular drink. Bartenders, businessmen, brewers, all kinds of people tried to get the recipe from Harry, but he refused to give it away mostly due to the fact that one needed a wand to create butterbeer, and none of the people here had an ounce of magical power in them.

"Though the success of butterbeer does explain why I'm still working at the same inn for the past two months," Harry mused to himself as he cleaned a glass. He looked at the piece of glass critically, before putting it down amongst the other dry glasses and picked up a new one, starting the process over again. "Though Nochura and Lalia are very kind to me, and have given me good accommodations and even a salary."

"Talking to yourself again, Hari?" Lalia teased as she came out from the backroom. She was helping her husband, Nochura, to carry a large barrel of butterbeer to the front for easier access.

"You should know that I am very weird by now," Harry smiled at her. "And how many times do I have to tell you that it's pronounced _Harry_?"

"You know that no one here can pronounce your tongue-tying name correctly," Nochura muttered, groaning happily as he stretched after putting the barely down. "Hopefully this will hold up tonight. There'll be big celebrations after the blitzball game – which, of course, the Abes are going to win!"

"Men and your obsession with blitzball! Honestly! Now, Hari, are you sure you want to work tonight?" Lalia asked the teen. "You remember what happened the last couple of times you worked."

"Yes, I was hit on by at least a score of drunken men," Harry grumbled. "It wasn't my fault."

"We know that, lad, but you have to admit that you do look… er… _feminine_." Nochura coughed slightly into his hand to hide his grin. "Perhaps if you cut your hair to shoulder-length and started wearing more manly clothes you wouldn't be mistaken for – how should I put this? – for free game."

The green-eyed teen glared. It wasn't his fault that whatever forces that had brought him here to Zanarkand had decided to give him a slim and elegant and, as Nochura had pointed out, rather feminine physique. And Harry absolutely refused to wear the clothes that were so popular with the Zanarkand men – the tight, long-necked and sleeveless shirts were uncomfortable; the various shapes and sizes of vests were a bit to revealing, and there was no way in hell that Harry would walk around with a bare chest. Sure, he had filled out since coming here to Zanarkand, but he knew he didn't have anything worth showing off – at least not in his own opinion.

Lalia hit her husband on the shoulder. "Shut it you, you're making the poor boy embarrassed. Go watch the reruns of previous blitzball games until opening time. You have two hours, so you should be able to get in a game or two before the pre-game rush starts."

"Yes dear!" Nochura practically sang and almost skipped out of the room.

"How's about this then," Lalia had turned back to Harry. "You keep working in the bar, and me and my idiot husband will walk around and sever the costumers. You would be sheltered from some of the more aggressive suitors then, Hari. It's not that I think that you cannot defend yourself – everyone knows that you can after what you did to Icco last week – but I still worry."

Harry nodded and smiled. "I can do that. Thanks."

The woman settled down at one of the tables. "If you don't mind my asking, Hari, but why _don't_ you ever take on a lover? You're certainly old enough, most definitely pretty enough, and I know of many people of both sexes that would be more than eager to, ahem, show you the ropes."

The teen simply shook his head. He would be going back to his own world at some point in time, he couldn't take on a lover and then simply up and disappear on them one day. Besides, that one date with Cho had been horrifying. "I can't, and I have no interest at the moment."

"As you wish, but don't be surprised if hopeful mothers start showing up with their single boys and girls, and offering them to you."

Harry threw the wet rag at the laughing woman, and grumbled.

Two hours later the little pub-slash-inn was filled to the brim with people wanting a drink before the blitzball game. Men and women, young and old, big, small, tall, thin, came in all colours of the rainbow. The chatter was loud, the excitement could almost be cut with a knife, and in one corner was a group of Barbie-like girls with too much make-up, bleached blonde hair, and too little in the clothing-department plotting another scheme to get the star player of the Zanarkand Abes to fall in love with them.

"Those girls give me the creeps." Nochura shuddered comically as he came to fill up his tray at the bar. "I can simply thank the gods that Lalia never was like that."

Harry nodded sagely. "Fangirls are dangerous creatures and should be avoided at all costs."

The few people standing at the bar snickered at the statement, several of the men nodding in agreement.

"Stop slacking off!" Lalia ordered as she joined them, though her eyes were twinkling.

"Yes, ma'am!" Harry mock-saluted her.

"Brat!"

-x-x-x-x-

Harry felt rather proud of how far he had come during his almost-two-year long stay in Zanarkand. He had learned a great deal about many things, especially himself, and he had been able to start working through Sirius' death and to start accepting the prophecy, but it was slow going. Sometimes he got so incredibly homesick, wanting to have Ron and Hermione by his side again, and wishing for all he was worth that he hadn't stepped through the Mirror of Erised that night. Those times he would always have a dream about his two best friends, talking to them, explaining why he had to go and asking for updates on the wizarding world. At first he thought it was simply a figment of his imagination and want to see the two again, but as time passed Ron and Hermione changed – and so did the news they told him.

"The wizarding world and Dumbledore were in such panic over your sudden disappearance, Harry," Hermione kept on reminding him, as if trying to make him feel guilt for what he had done. "We had to play ignorant as well to keep them from suspecting us. Luckily, you didn't contact us until after they had questioned us under veritaserum, so it didn't matter."

"On to more important things," Ron would usually break in at this point and get to the real news. "You-Know-Who's done it. He's taken over the Ministry for Magic, and he's made his name a Taboo. Anyone who mentions it is taken away immediately. Dumbledore's gone into hiding, and there are groups of Snatchers roaming the countryside. Snatchers grab anyone and anything that the new Ministry has deemed as a threat."

"How is everyone?" Harry asked always.

"As fine as can be. Snape's the new headmaster at Hogwarts, but he isn't as bad as many feared he would be. The resistance is still going strong – in secret, of course – and Neville's being a surprisingly good leader."

"And what about those horcruxes you two told me about? Have you found and destroyed any of them?"

The conversations would usually run in this manner, and when Harry woke up he felt both happier from having seen his friend, and more and more worried about the wizarding world. However, it seemed so incredibly difficult to worry about anything else but blitzball and the small day-to-day things when one lived in Zanarkand. Everything else seemed to be so far away.

-x-x-x-x-

"This is what we call a gunblade," Nochura explained as he showed the ancient piece of equipment to an eager Harry. "It can be used for both shooting and like a sword. Cool, ne?"

Harry was in awe of the weapon. "Where did you find it?"

"Ancient machina like this are to be found certain places where archaeology has revealed that the old civilisations thrived particularly." Lalia explained. "Nochura found this one while travelling as a young man. He cleaned it up, figured out how it works, and is a passable fighter with it."

Green eyes burned with determination as Harry turned towards the older man. "Will you teach me? Please?"

Nochura looked from the gunblade to Harry a few times, then finally nodded. "But it won't be easy, so you better be prepared!"

"Yes sir!"

-x-x-x-x-

One day before the pub opened up, Harry was standing in the bar again, drying glasses and making sure that no one wandered in through the open front and backdoors. Lalia had decided that the pub needed airing that day, and the weather was nice and warm, so there was nothing against it really. Someone just had to keep an eye on things, and since both Lalia and her husband were going out to stock up on things, that task fell to Harry – not that he minded. The bar was nice and quiet, and the only sounds that came was from the air conditioning or the slight sounds Harry made with the glasses and his humming.

Then something strange happened. A yellow and blue streak ran into the pub, jumped over the counter and managed to wriggle itself into the only free space underneath the counter. Said streak of blue and yellow was followed by approximately twenty Barbie-girls, all of which looked slightly deranged, their manicured hands all holding opened heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, eyes in various shades of blue and purple looked wildly around the pub, before the entire group focused on Harry and stalked over to him.

"Where is he?!" the girl at the front demanded, and several others echoed her.

"Where is who?" Harry asked, because he was quite sure that the yellow and blue streak couldn't have been anything human.

"Who? What do you mean who?!?!" the girl shrieked. "What rock have you been living under, girl?!?! Tidus, of course! The star player of the Zanarkand Abes!" the other girls echoed her again. "Now! Where did he go?!?!"

"Out the back door." Harry squeaked, and the horde of fangirls ran out again. "And I'm a guy." He added once he was sure that the monsters were far, far, _far_ away. Then he hunched down on his heels, and stared at the blue and yellow ball he assumed to be Tidus. Then he poked him.

Sky-blue eyes peeked out from the ball. "Are they gone?"

"Yes. Comfy in there?" Harry smiled.

"Not really, no. Mind helping me outta here?" a tanned had was stretched out.

For a moment Harry contemplated on simply leaving the other teen there to get out on his own, but in the end he sighed and grabbed a hold of the other's hand. It was larger and stronger, tanned golden, and callused from hours of playing blitzball. Harry started pulling, and there came a few groans from the bar, and for a moment the green-eyed teen was afraid that the bar would collapse, but it held and with a mighty heave Tidus popped out. The suddenness of it all made Harry lose his balance, and Tidus landed half-way on top of him.

"Um, would you mind getting off of me?" Harry asked. Tidus had been staring at him from the same position for about a minute now, and Harry was getting a bit awkward.

Tidus grinned roguishly. "I kinda like it right where I am." One of his hands crept along the other teen's waist, and down, and then pinched the other's arse.

Harry squawked in shock, then roared in fury and proceeded to do his best in stuffing the blond idiot right back into the hole they had just gotten him out of.

-x-x-x-x-

Nochura poked his head into Harry's room after knocking. "Hari, there's a guy down there saying he's a friend of yours."

Harry looked up from the book he had been reading. "Ah, thanks, I'll be right down."

"No prob!" the older man grinned and disappeared.

'_I wonder who it might be.' _Harry mused as he walked downstairs into the pub – the living quarters were located just above it. He looked around, trying to spot the person. Lalia was behind the bar, making sure that everything was ready for tonight. And Nochura had gone back to cleaning the tables.

Then Harry spotted the person he was looking for, and paled. "Oh no, not him!"

Tidus grinned at the shorter teen. "Hallo Hari."

The green-eyed teen had never before wished for Voldemort to show up and try to kill him, but right now that seemed like a good idea.

-x-x-x-x-

"A butterbeer please, my emerald." Tidus ordered with a grin.

"I am not your anything!" Harry shouted as he put the tankard down on the table harsher than necessary.

"You will be!" the blond declared with his usual grin, and took a drink.

The green-eyed teen glared. "Not in your dreams, bucko! Don't you have anything better to do than harass unsuspecting, innocent people? Isn't there a blitzball game, or training, or something you have to go to that will take you as far away from me as possible?"

"Nope! My day is all yours!"

"ARRRGH!!!!"

Harry really felt like taking out the gunblade and using Tidus as shooting practice.

-x-x-x-x-

"Please Hari."

"No."

"Just once."

"Nope."

Tidus pulled out his greatest weapon. "Pwetty please with cream and sugar on top?"

Harry's eyebrow twitched, and he swatted the other teen with the dishrag. "Puppy-dog eyes don't work on me, so stop it. Besides, trust me when I say that my godfather was a master of puppy-dog eyes, and I have probably grown immune to them by now."

"So you agree to go out with me on a date then?"

"Keep on dreaming."

"I do!"

The green-eyed teen froze, then grimaced. "_Eeew_! I didn't need to know that, you dolt!"

-x-x-x-x-

"Hari, your boyfriend's here!" Lalia called to the green-eyed teen, chuckling when said teen started swearing and cursing and promising revenge upon a certain star blitzball player.

Harry stalked to the front of the pub, headed straight towards a grinning Tidus, and – to the great amusement of everyone in the room – grabbed the taller teen's ear, and pulled him out the door and into the darkness. Some of the more mischievous regulars decided to embarrass the green-eyed teen even further, and started to wolf-whistle and catcall only to laugh when Harry started cursing up a blue streak.

The black-haired teen pushed his taller companion up against the wall in the alley right next to the pub, and – with arms crossed – demanded an explanation. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought you had a game this evening?"

"I do," Tidus replied. "I just came to invite you to the game. Actually, the words would be 'force' and 'blackmail' you into coming to the game and then a date with me afterwards."

An eyebrow twitched. In the past few months Harry really had understood the way Lilly Potter nee Evans must've felt like while she was chased by a very hormonal James Potter. Not that Harry couldn't admit that Tidus was a really nice example of the male race, but his cocky attitude left something to be desired – or that's what he had been telling himself ever since he caught himself in thinking that Tidus was cute and that he grew upon you. Harry forced himself to focus. "And how, exactly, do you think you will manage this extraordinary feat?"

The grin turned positively evil. "I have pictures of you drunk out of your mind kindly provided by Nochura."

Harry yelped in horror. The damn traitor Nochura had promised that he had destroyed those incriminating pictures, dammit!

Tidus smiled normally again. "Tell you what, you come to the game and go on a date with me afterwards, and if you honestly don't like it then I'll stop chasing after you."

"Pinky promise?" Harry demanded after studying the other with suspicious eyes.

"Pinky promise." Tidus confirmed, and hooked his pinky with Harry's.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry focused on the book. It was really interesting, describing the history of Zanarkand. Really good.

Or it would have been if Tidus could leave his neck alone.

"Dammit you blond dolt! I'm trying to read here!"

"U-hum." Tidus replied, tightened his hold on the smaller teen and continued with adorning Harry's neck with hickeys.

The green-eyed teen twisted around in the grip, deliberately letting the book connect with the other teen's head. "Just because you managed to convince me to be your boyfriend, doesn't mean that can't be terminated if you don't behave."

The blond grinned, resting his forehead against Harry's. "You're cute when you're angry."

Harry gave him a dry look, then promptly pushed him off the couch.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry couldn't believe that he had allowed Tidus to corrupt him so much that he was willing to go to one of the blond's blitzball games. Usually he had to be blackmailed and forced into it, but this time he had simply gone on his own. He should've gone to the library to deliver a book, but instead his feet had led him towards the large stadium, through the doors, and into the stands. The crowd around him cheered when the first team entered the sphere pool, and practically went wild when the Zanarkand Abes entered as well. Green eyes followed each player around the suspended pool, but then caught and lingered for a long while on a certain star player.

When Tidus spotted Harry in the stands, he blinked in surprise, then grinned and waved wildly. Several of the girls around Harry sighed dreamily, and one even fainted, but Harry simply looked away, a slight blush staining his cheeks.

'_What am I doing here?'_ the black-haired teen wondered. _'I can't stay in Zanarkand forever. I need to go back to the wizarding world, and help getting rid of Voldemort. I shouldn't be having a relationship with anyone, let alone the star player of the Zanarkand blitzball team! This can only end with heartbreak for both of us. I should pull out as soon as possible!'_

The game started and Harry couldn't help but feel slightly awed. The players were very competent, and extremely competitive, but they never went outside the rules. This certainly wasn't like a Gryffindor-Slytherin match. Though the violence in blitzball could give the violence in professional Quidditch a good run for its money. People were flung out of the sphere pool, they were tackled, the breath they held was knocked out of them, and a number of other violent acts were committed.

"I have never seen Tidus play that good!" a girl a few rows in front of Harry squealed, then cheered loudly when the Abes scored again.

"He seems to be showing off!" her friend commented.

"And he was looking this way and waving wildly just before the game started!" a third girl added her two cents in.

The three girls all looked at each other, then suddenly squealed loudly, their faces covered with bright blushes. "_KYAAAAH_!!!!"

Those little bimbos were talking about _his_ boyfriend, dammit! Harry's eyebrow twitched, and he desperately tried to ignore the possessive feeling that rose up in him. _'I am not jealous. I am not possessive. And I certainly am not either of those things when it comes to Tidus.'_

When the game ended, Harry attempted to hurry out of the stadium before Tidus could catch up with him, but the goddamn crowds and fans simply refused to leave and move out of the way. And when they did start moving it was towards the locker rooms in order to catch the players when they exited. Harry was swept with the flow, until he finally managed to get away right before the crazed masses reached the locker rooms. The green-eyed teen stumbled slightly as he made his escape, feeling somewhat amused at having finally found something that was more scary than Voldemort.

He hadn't gotten far when a pair of arms wrapped around him, and lifted him off the ground and swung him in a circle. Once he was put back down onto terra firma, Harry had to hang on to his blond attacker until the dizzy feeling passed. Then he glared up at Tidus, and poked the taller teen in his still-wet chest. "What do you think you're doing, dolt? Now I'm wet as well!"

Tidus simply laughed, pulled Harry flush up against his wet clothes and kissed him silly.

-x-x-x-x-

Ron and Hermione stared at Harry. It had been a long time since the trio had met up in their dreams, and Harry couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable under the other two's harsh scrutiny.

"You've gotten shagged." Ron finally declared rather bluntly.

"What?!" Hermione blushed.

"E-excuse me?!" Harry squeaked. One wasn't supposed to say things like that so bluntly, dammit! It gave him no time to prepare for the following conversation.

"You've popped your cherry, Harry. Done the nasty. The horizontal tango. Made love. Had wild monkey sex. Experienced an orgasm. I can go on."

Harry and Hermione stared at him.

"What? I'm a hormonal teenage male. That should explain everything."

"I'm a hormonal teenage male as well, but I don't speak like that." Harry muttered.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but then turned back to the black-haired teen. "So, did you?"

Harry blinked. "Did I what?"

"Pop your cherry!"

Green eyes widened. "I thought you were supposed to update me on the situation in the wizarding world!"

"We have time for that later. I want to hear all the juicy details!" Hermione settled down in the mindscape. "So, was it that blond menace you were complaining about?"

For the first time Harry wished he could will himself awake. There had been a lot of firsts lately.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry sighed and made himself more comfortable in Tidus' embrace. They laid on the couch in Tidus' home. It was one of those days when it was simply too hot to be doing anything. There was absolutely no wind, the temperature was higher than normal, and all sane people kept inside as much as they could. The entire week had been just like that, and Zanarkand had seemed to fall into a lazy-spell, only waking up once it got colder during the night.

"I think someone just entered the house, Tidus." The green-eyed teen mumbled sleepily to his humanoid pillow.

"No one sane is out in this weather, Hari," the blond replied in the same lazy voice. "You must've been dreamin' or somthin'."

"Hmm." Harry agreed on principle, not having bothered to follow what his blond companion said.

The two eighteen-year-olds regretted their decision to ignore the incident only two minutes later when a pitcher of cold water was poured onto them both. Although the cold was a welcome relief from the scorching heat, the shock of its sudden disappearance made them both jump up with yelps, attempt to grab the closest thing that could be used as a weapon, and consequently ending up on the floor in a tangled heap of limbs.

"Now this is interesting," came a deep voice from somewhere above them.

A tall man stood in front of them, dressed in red warrior-monk robes. He had shades, his hair was black and spiky, and the collar of his robe covered the lower half of his face. As he returned his rarely-used want to its hidden holster, Harry had to wonder exactly how the man managed to stay so goddamn cool in those thick clothes.

Tidus was the first to react. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What does it look like? I'm visiting of course," the man replied, then turned to Harry and simply raised an eyebrow.

The blond grumbled, but did the introductions as he pulled himself and Harry off the floor and back onto the couch, forcing the smaller teen to settle in his lap and winding his arms possessively around him. "This is Hari, my boyfriend of a year and four months. Hari, this is Auron. He's a friend of my old man's."

"Pleased to meet you." Harry smiled politely and stretched out a hand. Auron simply nodded, ignoring the hand, his eyes never leaving the green-eyed boy.

'_For some strange reason I suddenly get the feeling that my time here in Zanarkand is about to end.'_ Harry shivered at the thought, and felt cold right in to the bone despite the sweltering heat.

-x-x-x-x-

"Tidus, please don't play tonight." Harry begged of the blond.

"The team's counting on me, Hari," the taller teen replied as he continued getting ready. "I have to play. Besides, you've seen a blitzball game before. You know that there is no other danger to me than perhaps a broken bone. Relax."

The green-eyed teen couldn't follow the advice. "Something bad's going to happen tonight, Tidus! Can't you feel it? It's in the air, in the ground, in everything. It's all humming with anticipation!"

"Yeah, anticipation for tonight's game."

Harry tried one last attempt at making his lover change his mind. He reached out and grabbed Tidus' wrist and pulled, forcing the blond to turn around. Then he pressed up against his long-term boyfriend and started kissing him wildly, grinding his hips suggestively against the other. Tidus responded wonderfully for a few minutes, but then seemed to manage pulling himself together and backed off.

"What's wrong with you, Hari? You've never been like this before."

"I told you! Something's going to happen, and it isn't good! Tidus, please listen to me and don't go!"

Tidus seemed like was about to listen to Harry, but then the shouts of the fans outside the house caught his attention and his stubbornness to see things through to the end reared its head. He straightened, checked his gear, and then headed towards the door. "I'll be back as soon as the game's over, Hari. There's nothing to worry about!"

Harry simply stood there and watched as the blond walked out of the house, and listened as the cheers of the fans grew to unimaginable decibels once they spotted the star blitzball player. For a while the green-eyed teen simply stood there in the empty house, then he suddenly realised what he was doing and hurried out of the house. He ran full speed back towards the pub where he lived and worked, some instinct inside him screaming at him to get the gunblade, to get ready.

He reached the house surprisingly quickly and dashed up the stairs and to his room. Here he packed a few pieces of clothing, some pictures and, of course, the gunblade that Nochura had gifted him with, and ran out again, this time heading for the stadium. But he wasn't even halfway there when a giant wave of water rose beyond the city and crashed down upon it. Along with the wave came the feeling of an overwhelming darkness, and Harry was sure that he saw the contour of some fish-like creature in the wave. Then the water reached him and he was far too busy trying to stay alive to notice other things. The water carried him on a wild tour through the city streets, and all Harry could do was make sure that he didn't hit any building or debris.

Finally managing to pull himself onto one of the higher-built roads that weren't destroyed, Harry proceeded to cough up what felt like both his lungs and his kidney. He did a quick check to make sure that his backpack, his gunblade and his wand were still where they were supposed to be, and then got to his feet in order to orient himself. the wave of water had destroyed much of the city, and if that wasn't enough the large fin that belonged to the contour he had seen and stuck out of the water, shook slightly and let several scales fall onto the piece of road where Harry currently found himself.

"Oh dammit!" Harry cursed when the scales turned into monsters. He didn't have too many bullets for the gunblade, so he pulled out his wand and got ready to curse the annoying little critters to kingdom come. However, he shouldn't have bothered. He didn't even get to shoot off one measly spell before someone interfered.

"Having fun without me, Hari?" Tidus joked as he cleanly slashed through one of the creatures with a reddish-tinted sword he had procured from somewhere.

Harry glared at the blond. "I told you something would go wrong. _I told you_! But do you listen to me? Of course not!"

"Yeah, sure, a little help would be appreciated!"

"Well, you're not getting it from me!"

"Less talk and more chopping," Auron cut into the banter and took out two monsters at once. "See that piece of debris over there at the edge? Make it explode Hari, while I and Tidus take care of the Sin Spawn."

Harry nodded and hurried over to the place that Auron had pointed to. Once there he discretely waved his wand, retreated a good few steps and then counted to five in his head. At this point the entire thing went _KABOOM!!!!_ and all the Sin Spawn and half the road were taken out. It gave the three of them a chance to move on, and Harry and Tidus blindly followed Auron through the destroyed city since the older man seemed to be the only one who knew where he was going.

Sometimes during their mad run through the throngs of panicked people, fights with Sin Spawn and everything else that went wrong, Tidus had grabbed a firm hold of Harry's wrist, only letting go when they were forced to fight and making sure that Harry was well out of harms way. Although Harry felt somewhat happy at this treatment, he was mostly annoyed. The blond dolt had seemingly forgotten about the gunblade strapped to Harry's thigh, and had also forgotten just how good a shot the green-eyed teen was with it – which was weird because Tidus had, on more than one occasion, been the target.

They reached a high-rise on the road, and Auron stopped suddenly and looked up. Above them the clouds started twisting and twirling, and a great vacuum started pulling the three into it. Auron grabbed a hold of Tidus' collar, while Tidus himself had both his arms wrapped around Harry in a deathlike grip.

"Are you sure?" Auron said out of the blue, still looking up into the twirling mass of clouds.

"Hang on!" Tidus shouted through the winds as he felt Harry slip slightly in his grasp. The vortex was getting stronger and stronger, and the blond was tired from first having played a blitzball game, and then fighting those Sin Spawn.

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Harry shouted back, tightening his hold as much as he could.

Auron didn't seem all that affected by the vortex, his grip on Tidus never wavering. "This is it," the warrior monk muttered. "It all begins here. This is your story." And with that, he let go of Tidus and the three of them disappeared into the vortex.

Harry wasn't quite sure what happened in the following seconds. All he could remember was being torn violently out of Tidus' hold, and flung away into the darkness. He thought he heard Tidus shout his name, but he couldn't be certain. All he knew that when he next woke up Zanarkand was gone, Tidus was gone, and he was again standing in the dusty room with the Mirror of Erised, said mirror smoking slightly. He was back at Hogwarts.

-x-x-x-x-

The hunt for the horcruxes was long and tiring and dangerous. The trio spent weeks apparating from one end of Great Britain to the other, camping out in the wizarding tent Hermione had acquired. The hunt for them had escalated, as had the Ministry's laws against muggleborns and halfbloods and various magical creatures. Voldemort had more or less won the fight, but he still didn't have an iron hold on everything and everyone, and that helped Harry, Ron and Hermione greatly as they searched for the other horcruxes and how to destroy them.

Then things suddenly picked up. One after the other the horcruxes were found and destroyed, and the Dark Lord got more and more worried. And with the guidance of a very ill Dumbledore, the trio managed to destroy all horcruxes but one. The last horcrux was Harry himself – unknowingly made – and for Voldemort to die Harry had to die. Hermione and Ron and everyone else ranted and raged and tried to find a way around that minor detail, Harry had long since accepted this – heck, he had almost been expecting it ever since learning about the horcruxes. So when the time came, Harry went to meet with Voldemort alone and, as expected, got a face full of Avada Kedavra.

For a second he hung in limbo, a place that seemed totally composed of hundreds upon hundreds of firefly-like motes of light. As if reacting to Harry's thoughts the motes of light banded together to form a weak image of a grinning Tidus, before dispersing again. But seeing the blond sent a twinge to Harry's heart. He hadn't had much time to think about Tidus and Zanarkand lately, but gods how he missed them both.

"He will be with you soon."

Harry whirled around and stared at the young boy that had suddenly appeared. The boy was dressed in clothes that were originally from Zanarkand, and the green eyes widened slightly. "E-excuse me?"

"Tidus will come for you soon." The boy repeated.

The teenager blinked.

"Don't worry," the child smiled slightly. "All will be fine in the end."

The motes of light started swirling around Harry in a wild dance, blocking his view of the mysterious little boy. Then Harry felt firm ground underneath himself again, and heard the cheers and jeers of the Death Eaters around him. He had gone and done it again, and had survived the Killing Curse a second time. The rest of the fight against Voldemort was surprisingly easy. Harry summoned his gunblade again, stabbed it through the Dark Lord and fired it at the same time. Bye-bye Voldemort.

Now Harry was walking through the hallways and corridors of Hogwarts again. And once again it was night. His feet unknowingly took him back to the room with the Mirror of Erised, but when he entered the mirror was no longer there, the room was clean and seemed like any other regularly-used classroom. The green-eyed teen sighed sadly, and headed towards the Astronomy Tower. Sure, he was more than happy that Voldemort was finally gone, but did the damn wizarding world have to make such a big deal out of it? And did they have to hound Harry day and night, asking him to tell the story of Voldemort's defeat for the nth time?

Harry stared a the stars, for once really admitting to himself that he missed Tidus' annoying presence. The blond had managed to annoy his way into Harry's heart, and the green-eyed teen hadn't realised until they were parted just how much he liked having Tidus around. He missed the other's grins, the wild hair, the strong arms that would trap Harry in an embrace at all times. And he especially missed the way Tidus paid special attention to Harry's neck, the blond having some sort of fascination with it. The memories of these things were so strong that Harry could physically feel them.

"How long do you intend on standing there like a statue, Hari?"

The shorter teen's eyes widened impossibly and a whirled around, only to come face-to-face with a well-known person. Harry raised a hand carefully, just barely daring to touch Tidus' cheek, hair, clothes, afraid that the blond would disappear.

"What? No welcome-back kiss? I'm wounded. Do you know what I had to go through in order to get back to you?" " Tidus grinned, his hold on Harry tightening. One hand slid south and pinched the smaller teen's arse.

Harry squawked and automatically lashed out, whooping Tidus on the head. At this point he realised that Tidus was really there – no hallucination had such a thick skull – and Harry let out a shout of joy, attacking the blond with kisses and hugs and even more kisses. "You're here! You're here! You're here! You dolt! I'm going to kill you for not listening to me! You're really here!"

Tidus simply grinned at the things Harry babbled between kisses. "You're cute when you're like this." He pinched the other's butt again.

"I told you not to do that, you idiot!"

Another pinch.

"One more and I swear I'll use you for shooting practice!"

The taller teen couldn't resist apparently, and repeated the action.

"Right! That's it! Where's my gunblade?" Harry struggled. "Oi! Let go of me, dammit!"

A fourth pinch was delivered with a devilish grin.

"AARGHH!!!!"

-x-x-x-x-

There you go. Please tell me what you think.

My beta doesn't like slash, so please excuse the mistakes you find.

Just so you know, this was written in a snapshot-way!

I based this Tidus on the way the character acted while in Zanarkand and the earliest stages of the FFX-game, so please keep that in mind. You know, the cocky star blitzball player and all that jazz. And I know that there was next to nothing about Harry coping with the loss of Sirius and the prophecy, but this is the way it turned out.

Thanks to:

Lady-of-the-gray, Adnexus, Really Frozen Phoenix, firefantasy88, ron-and-dragon-lover, Toki Mirage, Morrolan, polabear, lildevil425, Firehedgehog, Hikari Kaiya, Fullmetal Angyl, The Morrigu, Blades of Silver, Wraith, Lyrashin, and White Ivy.


	4. HP & Ghost Hunt

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer:**I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling, Fuyumi Ono and Shiho Inada.

**Author's Note:** Enjoy! And to the one who asked: See! This is not slash! I can actually write het... I think... perhaps...

**Crossover:** Harry Potter & Ghost Hunt.

**Pairing:** Harry(Shibuya Kazuya – i.e. Naru-chan)/Mai Taniyama

**Warnings:** Some AU in the GH-verse and definitely AU in the HP-verse after first year.

**Rating:** T

**One-shot #4:**** In the End (Pat I)**

Harry's hands burned Quirrel's skin, spreading across the DADA-teacher's body and turning him into ash. Voldemort's spirit flew up from the fallen body and headed quickly towards the nearest exit. Acting in the instincts inside of him – the instinct screaming at him not to let the murderer of his parents escape – Harry ran as fast as he could after the fleeing spectre and grabbed at it.

He hadn't really expected to actually be able to touch the spirit, but that was what happened, and both Harry and Voldemort screamed in pain as they were both burned. While Voldemort tried to get away, Harry refused to let go. He hung on for dear life, ignoring everything else. Therefore he was very much surprised when Voldemort's ghost literally exploded with a scream of pain and rage. The explosion sent Harry flying until he was stopped none too gently by the Mirror of Erised, completely destroying the magical object. It was at this point that Harry lost consciousness and knew no more except darkness.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry sat there in shock, completely ignoring the wizards that were painting runes and other characters on his naked chest, back and arms. Of all the things he had ever expected to happen, this was definitely not it.

"Harry Potter," Minister Fudge read up from an official-looking document, looking just as official himself. "You should have been thrown into Azkaban prison for life, for having killed a professor from your own school in such a gruesome manner. And you also destroyed a priceless one-of-a-kind magical object, which is a great loss to the wizarding world. But considering your young age and that you rid us of You-Know-Who, the Wizengamont has decided to look with kinder eyes upon your sentence."

The small boy felt a little hope well up inside him. Perhaps he would only be expelled? Or sent back to the Dursley's for a year?

His hopes were ruthlessly crushed the second Minister Fudge opened his mouth.

"For your crimes – and for the fear of You-Know-Who taking over you and turning you dark through your connection with him – we have decided to place upon you the Curse of Valpurgis."

The people that sat all around on the stands, gasped in horror and shock, but no one moved to help the eleven-year-old that was bound harshly to a metal chair, his back, front and arms decked with runes and characters and symbols, as was the floor all around him. Not even Dumbledore twitched, his old face expressionless, his blue eyes hard as stone. But – to Harry's shock – it was Snape, of all people, who looked ready to protest, and it was clear that he would have done so hadn't Dumbledore discretely tapped the Potion Master with his wand, freezing him in place.

Harry saw all this, and he could not bring himself to feel anything. He had long ago learned that all good things must come to an end sooner or later, and it had more often been sooner rather than later for him. Hogwarts had simply been too good to be true, and he had been a fool to be swept along with the wonderful magical feats that the school and the professors had showed, had been stupid to dream of doing the same things one day. No, this was the final straw, and from now on he would only look out for himself – no matter what his heart might desire.

"You will, in essence, become a squib," Fudge continued. "You will no longer be able to use your magic. If you use it, you will suffer greatly; and the more you insist on using it and pushing yourself, the worse you will suffer, finally leading to death. If you try to contact anyone from our noble world, you will be thrown into Azkaban prison regardless of your age or accomplishments. If you betray us and speak to anyone about wizards, you will be thrown into Azkaban prison. You will also have to compensate us for the loss of the ancient magical artefact that you so carelessly destroyed, namely the Mirror of Erised, but the Wizengamont has decided to be lenient, and has decided that that can wait until you have established yourself in the muggle world and reached legal age. Be grateful for our kind mercy, and may Merlin be kind to your sinning soul."

By now the wizards that had been painting the runes and characters and symbols on Harry's body, were done and they stepped back. Harry didn't react, feeling his heart grow cold and not care about what happened next. He closed his eyes as the aurors around the chair he sat in, raised their wands. One lone tear ran down his cheek milliseconds before the spells hit him, and he screamed in pain.

-x-x-x-x-

After the sealing of his magical powers he had been sent back to the Dursley's, but Harry had escaped from them and the aurors that watched them the first chance he got. The wizarding world had ruined his life enough without having them watching his every move. Therefore he spent the next two years on the run, travelling from one place to another all over Great Britain. He quickly learned to take care of himself, to feed himself, to avoid the Childcare Services that came after him, and he learned to differentiate magical things from muggle things – whether it be plants, rocks, houses, teacups, or humans. It was rather weird, but Harry supposed that it was his magic trying to find an outlet.

Professor McGonagall had been very adamant about that subject in her first Transfiguration class. "When children reach a certain age – sooner for some and later for others – their magic core will have grown to a point in which their bodies cannot handle it, and therefore the magic will seek to exit in order not to hurt the child. This is what leads to all the cases of accidental magic. Magical parents can simply buy the child a toy or something which can act as a magical storage, automatically seeping the child's magic and keeping it at a safe level. It is not so easy for muggle parents, which is why a wizard or witch is always sent over to explain things when a muggle-born child starts showing hints of magic."

The professor looked sternly around the room, quelling any and all smirks and sneers that the Slytherins might have, before she continued. "This is, however, not the end of it. Such toys that control a child's magic, only work for a while until the point that the child becomes too powerful and magically overwhelms the toy. It is at this point that you start Hogwarts. Here we teach you how to properly use your magic, and with this constant use you control your magical core, preventing it from spilling over. This is why witches and wizards cannot live without doing some form of magic. Their cores would grow too big, and they would simply explode from the inside out. It is most certainly nothing to laugh about."

Hermione had raised her hand. "Professor McGonagall!"

"Yes, Miss Granger, what is it?"

"What would happen if someone's magical core was sealed? What would the magic do then?"

"Having one's core sealed is painful and I hope it never happens to any of you. Your magic, which wouldn't be allowed to escape your body at all, would be forced to find other ways to dispel itself within the body. You might suddenly grow several inches, your muscles may fill out, your hair change colour, your eyes change colour. You might get stronger, or get weaker. Either way, the changes would be solely focused within you since there is no other alternative for magic to be used. But make no mistake, this is nothing to laugh about. It is very painful, and rather a curse than a blessing on the poor person who has had their magical core sealed."

Harry clearly remembered this conversation, because he now found himself in just that situation. He had grown and had filled out despite the small amount of food he ate. His eyes had corrected themselves over a period of six months, and had changed from the Avada-Kedavra-green to a dark, midnight blue. His scar and any other blemishes had disappeared, and his skin had turned somewhat pale, contrasting greatly with his dark hair and eyes. His strength and speed had also increased slightly, but the most shocking thing was that he had become smarter. Harry's brain now processed and dealt with information much quicker and at a completely different level than before, and that had taken a lot of time and thought to get used to.

'_This is insane.' _The young teen had mused to himself one day, but had left it at that.

Either way, after two years of wandering, the thirteen year old had ended up in a small seaside village where everyone knew everyone, and his arrival couldn't have been more noticed if he had rode in on a hippogriff. The villagers were horrified that a child his age was homeless and an orphan, and despite Harry's most vehement protests, had banded together to give him at least a place to sleep and some old clothes. They had quickly fixed up a small shack halfway between the village and the old ruins of a small, ancient church, and they would have freely given him daily money for food, if Harry hadn't insisted that he work for it. The dark teen may only be thirteen years old, but his pride wouldn't accept pity or charity from anyone.

"Let him do as he wishes as long as he is happy," one of the villagers had commented. "Besides, it is always good to have an extra pair of hands around."

The villagers soon discovered that the newest resident was a very guarded and very distant child, though always polite. The young teen didn't seem to be in the habit of lying, and had demonstrated more than once that he would tell the truth no matter how brutal or cruel it was. Several young women had burst into tears when upon asking Harry if their new dress or hat looked good on them and, instead of the expected positive answer, had received a rather thorough tongue-lashing as to exactly why that and that garment or colour didn't and never would fit them no matter how much they might hope or wish for it. This attitude, in turn, led to the children of the town considering Harry somewhat cold and narcissistic, therefore they nicknamed him Naru, a shortened form of the word narcissist. And since Harry never had given them any name to call him by, soon the entire town was calling him Naru.

"The preacher's wife still refuses to come to the tea-club after Mrs. Greenway insulted her. Of course, Mrs. Greenway was completely right when she said that the dress was too sassy." Mrs. Mills – one of the people who regularly took advantage of Harry's helping hands – said one day.

Harry, who was working in her garden, didn't seem to hear or register anything the old woman said, and never acknowledged anything she said unless it was a question. It didn't bother the old woman in the slightest that she hardly ever got an answer, the entire village had gotten used to the dark teen's attitude, and by now paid it little mind.

"Oh! Naru, dear, guess what I heard from Mrs. Long!"

"What, Mrs. Mills?" Harry gave in and asked when it became clear, after several long and silent moments that the usually oh-so-chatty old woman wasn't going to continue.

"I am glad you asked!" Mrs. Mills took a sip of her tea. "Well, Mrs. Long told me that Mrs. Greenway told her that young Miss Martha heard from a friend of hers – one of those modern girls who spend all their time on the internet – that another couple of ghost hunters were coming to town."

"That is no surprise," the dark teen commented. "This town lies adjacent to one of the allegedly most haunted graveyards in all of Britain, and people who chase ghosts are no strangers here. The village practically bases its entire economy on these people."

"Yes, yes, of course, dearie." She waved her cup of tea at him. "But these hunters are apparently a very famous pair from Japan. Shibuya, I think their name is. Just imagine the publicity our little village will get!"

"Indeed." Harry commented, never stopping in his work. As he had already said, the phenomenon of ghosts and ghost hunters weren't anything new in the town. Practically every month a new crew of ghost hunters appeared and attempted to tackle the ghosts in the vicinity. Most of them went away disappointed, never having even seen an ounce of ghostly activity. Few were lucky enough to experience some scary sounds or other minor ghostly disturbances, while even fewer came face to face with the very real dangers of the graveyard, and were chased away.

'_And that graveyard is haunted, I should know. I live closest to it, and even if I hadn't known from my time in the wizarding world that ghosts and ghouls existed, the stuff that has happened around here and that graveyard would have made me a firm believer a long time ago.' _Harry mused to himself later that day. He had finished weeding Mrs. Mills' garden, and was now headed towards the library to do some research on this Shibuya couple. He had never before shown such interest in any group of ghost hunters that came through, but for some strange reason this time the name alone was more than enough to peek his interest. There was something in him – most likely his caged magic – that screamed at him that something big was going to happen. Something that would most decidedly affect Harry himself.

Well, the Shibuya's arrived a week later, and went to work at once. They rented rooms in the local inn, they had much very expensive recording equipment that they set up all around the graveyard, they went to the library to do research, they talked to people, and they dug into the past without even thinking twice about it. With Mr. and Mrs. Shibuya came their assistant and good friend Madoka Mori. A young woman that had learned the art of ghost hunting from the Shibuya's themselves but had now struck out on her own, only occasionally helping her former teachers – if village gossip was to be believed. But the largest surprise for Harry hadn't been any of this, but rather the Shibuya's adopted son, Eugene. Eugene Shibuya and Harry Potter looked like they could have been twins, and the only thing setting them apart was that Eugene had softer features and a gentler disposition.

The first time Harry and Eugene had bumped into each other in the village, the entire place had seemed to freeze up and stare at the two surprised teenagers that were studying each other.

"Bless me!" Mrs. Mills exclaimed to Mrs. Long. "They could be mistaken for twins!"

"May I ask, who is that young teen?" Mrs. Shibuya had asked the two elderly women, her eyes focused on the two boys.

"We call him Naru." Mrs. Long had been eager to inform the Japanese woman. "A homeless orphan that drifted into town a few months ago. Never told us his name, but always eager to help."

"Extremely smart lad, that one. Proud too," Mrs. Mills added her two cents. "Never accepts charity or pity. And has a tongue like a razor. Goodness me, Mrs. Long, do you remember the lashing he gave to young Annie when she bought that new sundress of hers?"

The other nodded. "Oh, dear, yes, the poor girl was in tears for a week."

"Indeed?" Mr. Shibuya joined the conversation.

"Yes, very much so. And I should think that a pair of ghost hunters like you would be very interested in the boy."

"How so?" Mrs. Shibuya inquired.

Mrs. Mills blinked, seeming shocked that the Japanese couple hadn't figured it out already. "Well, apart from the fact that he looks exactly like your son, Naru is also the one who lives closest to the graveyard, of course!"

Harry hadn't been privy to this conversation at that time – he had been far too interested in this look-alike of himself – and, after having stared at the mirror image for a great many minutes, had decided that he was not hallucinating and that this was just some weird, freaky thingy that he didn't want to spend time pondering over at that moment. Especially not since the baker had promised him free lunch that day if he could only deliver a few pastries and such to the inn. Therefore he simply stepped around the other teenager, and headed towards the bakery without glancing back, but he did feel that curious eyes following him until he entered the bakery.

That wasn't the only surprise that Harry received that day, because that very afternoon the three Shibuya's and Madoka Mori had searched him out in the village, had taken him aside to their base – i.e. the room where they had put up all the equipment – and had questioned him thoroughly about the ghostly happenings of the graveyard. They were so thorough and so precise with their questions, that Harry for a while suspected them of being from the wizarding world, but that notion was dispersed with some more research.

"Are you sure that this is everything?" Mr. Shibuya asked him, looking down at whatever notes he had taken during the interview.

"It is." Harry replied in an emotionless voice, though he was keenly aware of everything that the quartet did and every beep of every monitor in the room.

"It must be powerful if it can reach all the way to your home," Eugene Shibuya commented whilst looking at a map of the area, a little red ring placed halfway between the village and the graveyard denoting Harry's little home.

"It is powerful."

"And exactly why do you say that with such certainty?" Mrs. Shibuya asked curiously.

Harry looked at her as though the answer should have been obvious. "I did some research when I first started experiencing ghostly episodes."

"And what did you find?" Mr. Shibuya stared at the homeless teen with an intense gaze.

"In the 17th century there was, apparently, a man named Merwyn Fulbert who was accused of witchcraft and subsequently killed. Just before he died, he apparently cursed the village by refusing their dead any rest in the afterlife." Harry said all this calmly, in a rather disinterested voice, as though he didn't quite believe this explanation. However, privately, he was more than certain that Merwyn Fulbert had been a wizard. No sane muggle would ever name their son Merwyn Fulbert.

"That was very thorough of you, Naru-san." Madoka Mori commented from her place behind the screen of the laptop. "I have here the exact same data, but I had to search high and low the entire day before I found it."

"Thinking of becoming a ghost hunter yourself, huh?" Eugene grinned at Harry.

"Not at all. I just did not want any surprises."

"Indeed." Mr. Shibuya hummed, his eyes never leaving Harry.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry supposed he should've expected a visit from the Shibuya couple at one point or another, but that it was practically in the middle of the night, was not something he had counted on. He stood in the doorway of his little home, staring at the Japanese couple with a raised eyebrow for a few minutes, but then – when it became obvious that the couple weren't moving – invited them in by stepping away from the doorway and leaving the door open. Mr. and Mrs. Shibuya took the invitation and entered, sending the little two-room house a cursory look-over, before settling in the two chairs by the table.

The formerly green-eyed teen settled onto his bed – which, during the day, doubled as a sofa – and stared at them some more. "Why are you here at this hour of the night?" he asked bluntly.

Mr. Shibuya matched Harry's expression easily. "We are ghost hunters. It is our job to walk around graveyards during the night."

'_Stupid of them to walk right into the nest of evil, to be poetic.'_ Harry mused. "This is not a graveyard, notably, so all you need to do is follow the path for another fifteen minutes in that direction." He pointed in the direction of the old church.

"We've already been there," Mrs. Shibuya smiled.

"This also not the village, so you need to follow the road in _that_ direction and you should reach it in ten minutes." He pointed again, this time in the opposite direction.

"We have a proposition for you, Naru." Mr. Shibuya spoke up.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Now? In the middle of the night?"

"Yes." Mrs. Shibuya nodded, still smiling serenely. Mr. Shibuya, at first glance, had the same look as his wife, but when one looked closer one could see those black eyes of his glittering in a challenge.

Harry hated challenges. He never seemed able to back down from them, no matter what he told himself, and it was the same this time around. "And what is this proposition of yours?"

A brief flash of triumph could be seen in Mr. Shibuya's eyes – and it set Harry's teeth on edge – but the Japanese man didn't comment, and simply listened as his wife went on to explaining the proposition in question. "Our assistant, Madoka, has received word of ghostly haunting in another village and has decided to check it out, and therefore we find ourselves one set of hands too short. Our son has expressed the same wish, and the villagers have often mentioned that you do not mind helping out."

"And you do not seem to fear the ghostly phenomenon," Mr. Shibuya added his two cents.

The dark teen knew he should say no, he knew it couldn't bring anything good all of this, the magic in him was practically screaming at him that if he accepted this offer then his entire life would change. But his thoughts came back to the challenge he had seen in Mr. Shibuya's eyes, and a long-suppressed desire to again deal with the magical, to find out if it was possible to break the Curse of Valpurgis, rose up in him stronger than ever.

So, despite his misgivings and his hesitance of getting involved with all of this, he nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'll help you out."

Mrs. Shibuya's smile turned from serene to happy and even Mr. Shibuya's lips twitched in amusement.

-x-x-x-x-

"There are two types of psychic power – ESP and PK, respectively." Eugene Shibuya lectured as he and Harry walked towards the old churchyard to gather the recordings of the night, and also replace these videocassettes with new ones.

Harry sent a vaguely interested look towards the lookalike beside him. "Indeed?"

Eugene nodded. "ESP stands for **e**xtra**s**ensory**p**erception, which is an ability to perceive things that ordinary people can't. There are two types of ESP: clairvoyant powers and telepathy."

"And PK?"

"That stands for **p**sycho**k**inesis. It is the ability to move objects by using only your willpower. Generally a psychic can be classified as either one or the other, but sometimes you will come across people who are a mixture of both. Anyways, there are three types of PK – PK-MT, PK-ST and PK-LT. Bending a spoon is an example of PK-ST, i.e. the ability to influence a stationary object. The direct opposite of that is PK-MT, the ability to control an object that's already in motion. And, lastly, PK-LT is the ability to influence a living, breathing thing – like those healers on the TV and all that stuff."

"And anyone can do this to some extent?" Harry wondered. Quite frankly he found the subject thoroughly interesting. Could this meant that wizards and witches were simply people with an abundant amount of either PK or ESP, and that even muggles and squibs could perform some form of what was classified as magic?

"Not everyone," Eugene looked thoughtful. "Though PK-MT is supposed to be the most common of the powers, and almost everyone can influence something at some point. I'm not really sure about it all, really. I've often wanted for the school to burn down right around exams, but it never happened."

Harry rolled his eyes slightly at that. "And what about you? How could one classify you?"

"I know I have a bit of clairvoyant powers, PK-ST and some PK-MT. Not quite sure how much power I do have." Eugene grinned and started skipping backwards along the road, so that he could be face-to-face with his twin lookalike. "Though if you can see ghosts, then even you have some ESP."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" the former Boy-Who-Lived sent the other a droll look. _'If you only knew!'_

"Even a narcissist like you can be good for something, Naru-chan!" he teased gently

Harry's eyebrow twitched once. He had been around the Shibuya's long enough to pick up some Japanese words, and although he wasn't quite sure what 'chan' meant, he knew instinctively that it was used as a suffix of endearment. He sent the merry teen an insincere smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Watch where you are going, Eugene, or you will trip."

Eugene snickered. "What are you talk-AAAHH!!!!"

Staring down at the boy that had just tripped, Harry couldn't help but smirk slightly. "I told you so."

The young Shibuya blinked in surprise, his eyes grew wide as he stared at Harry, and then he jumped up and practically threw himself at the other teen. "That was _sooooooo_ cool! How did you _do_ that?! Do you have some PK-ST and some PK-LT as well?! That is really sweet!!!!"

Harry sighed as the other continued to badger him with questions all the way to the graveyard. There they parted to quicker get the cameras reset, and Harry was finally allowed a bit of peace. He hadn't done anything to make Eugene trip, though the branch in the backwards-walking teen's way had come in rather handy, but Eugene seemed to be completely convinced that Harry had some psychic abilities and was now almost waxing poetic about these supposed powers.

'_Well, he isn't all that far off the mark,' _Harry mused as he walked back towards the entrance of the graveyard where he would meet up with Eugene again. _'The only problem being that I can't use said powers unless I want to kill myself.'_

Looking around the graveyard and the ruins of the old church, Harry shook his head. Despite being excellent ghost hunters and wonderfully knowledgeable about everything that was related to the paranormal, the Shibuya couple didn't really have the power necessary to deal with the ghost that was haunting this graveyard. If Madoka Mori had been there, and the three adults had pooled their powers together, they might have been able to get rid of Merwyn Fulbert's vengeful ghost. But with just the two of them and an untrained young teen, Harry really couldn't see them coming victorious out of this encounter. This entire churchyard was almost swallowed up by a thick layer of malevolent magic, and every instinct Harry had screamed at him that this place was definitely not safe.

'_It's as though the presence of the Shibuya's has further awoken Merwyn Fulbert's ghost, and now it is actively hunting for prey rather than simply scaring the occasional ghost hunters and tourists.' _He theorized as he gazed upon the old church. Only the bell tower seemed to be fully intact, while the rest of the church had large holes here and there, and the roof leaked more than a sieve.

At this point Eugene came back, making his way between the old gravestones, and the two of them made their way back towards the village, but not before Harry sent one last look at the old church over his shoulder.

'_This does not bode well for anyone.'_

-x-x-x-x-

But nothing really happened for the next couple of weeks. Despite there hardly ever being any sign of ghostly activity, the Japanese ghost hunters stubbornly refused to give up and continued their 24/7 surveillance of the graveyard, their research, and their teaching Harry the ins and outs of ghost hunting. Yes, the Shibuya trio seemed to have become rather attached to the quiet and dark teen, despite Harry's best efforts to keep them away. Mr. Shibuya, in particular, seemed to have grown fond of 'Naru-chan', and had taken the teen under his wing. Harry had simply stopped fighting them when he realised that it was useless, and accepted their attentions with only a grumble or two. The peacefulness of everything nearly lulled Harry into false sense of security.

Nearly.

It was one evening into his third week working for the Shibuya's, that Harry was returning to the HQ's in the inn after having spent the last three hours weeding Mrs. Mills' garden again. For, despite working for the Japanese ghost hunters, he was still helping around the village when he could – his own, silent way of thanking the village for what they had given him when he had wandered into town almost nine months ago.

On the way over to the inn, he met up with Madoka Mori who had just returned. The woman was stepping out of her van when she spotted him, and called him over with a wave and a smile. "Naru-kun!"

"Miss Mori," he nodded to her. "I hope your ghost hunt was fruitful?" he inquired politely.

The young woman nodded eagerly. "There really was a ghost, an earth spirit. Took some time to get rid of it, though. I hear you have been helping Shibuya-san with their work. How do you like ghost hunting?"

Harry mused for a while before answering. "It is interesting." He admitted.

Madoka laughed as the two of them entered the inn. "You are understating it. You have become addicted to the hunt, I can see it in your eyes."

The dark teen rolled his eyes again – he seemed to do that often around Madoka and Eugene – and walked over to the desk to ask for the Shibuya's.

"You're about two hours too late, Naru," the proprietor of the inn told him.

"Too late?" Harry parroted, a sense of foreboding settling over him.

Madoka stepped up beside the teen, looking just as worried. "What do you mean?" she asked.

The man sighed. "The Shibuya family took a trip up to the old graveyard; apparently there was something wrong with one of the cameras. They said for you two to stay put until they came back though."

The sense of foreboding turned into a sense of danger and urgency, and Harry didn't waste any time running out of the inn and down the street, only to be called back by Madoka. "Come on! We'll take my car!"

Harry jumped into the vehicle, and the young Japanese woman put it into gear and drove way over the speed limit. The road was bumpy and hardly made for a van or high speed, but Madoka drove as fast as she dared, and it only took them little more than ten minutes to get to the graveyard and the ruins of the old church. Madoka parked some yards away from the small stone fence that ran around the entirety of the graveyard, and the two of them jumped out and ran over to said fence, staring in shock at the sight that met them.

In the thick fog that lay over the graveyard, the ghostly bodies of the dead were moving slowly but surely towards the church, occasionally moaning and groaning. It didn't seem to bother them when they stumbled across gravestones, or walked into other zombies, and they simply continued forwards. There were zombies with practically no flesh or clothes left on the skeleton, zombies that had hardly started decomposing, and zombies that were somewhere in between. The worst of it, in Harry's opinion, was the zombie of a child that was missing its legs and was dragging itself and a half-rotten teddy bear across the graveyard.

Yet, despite how Hollywood usually depicted such scenes with action-filled music, it was far creepier when the only sounds were the occasional groan of the zombies and the wind playing with the branches of the trees.

Madoka had grabbed Harry's arm, and now pointed towards the dilapidated church. "There! There they are!"

And now Harry saw it as well. Through the cracks in the wood in one of the boarded-up windows, a faint light managed to penetrate just barely. A second later the light disappeared as if someone was holding it and had moved away.

"They don't seem to know that they are about to be attacked." Harry said worriedly. "We need to warn them somehow."

"The car!" Madoka hurried back into the car and started honking on the horn. However, while there was no reaction from inside the church, several zombies turned in their direction and started walking slowly and heavily towards them.

'_Bugger!'_ Harry cursed to himself. Something needed to be done, and fast. "Madoka!"

"Yes?"

"Can you hold off those zombies heading towards us?"

"I can handle them." The woman didn't hesitate with her answer.

Harry nodded to her. "Good. Keep them away from yourself and the car. We need a quick getaway." He turned back to face the church and got ready, muscles tensing.

"But what...?" she blinked at him, then seemed to realise what he was going to do. "You'll get yourself killed!"

"No I won't." Harry replied. If Voldemort and the freakin' wizarding world couldn't kill him, then a couple of zombies and the vengeful soul of a wizard that died hundreds of years ago weren't going to kill him either. "I'll be right back." He told her and ran into the zombie-infested graveyard.

"NARU!!!!!" Madoka shouted after him, but he didn't listen.

Harry didn't listen and ran, jumped and skidded his way across the graveyard, between and over tombstones and avoiding the grabbing hands of the slow zombies. He skidded to a halt in front of the half-rotten but remarkably well-preserved oak doors, flung one of them open only enough for himself to get through the opening, then shut it after himself, looking wildly around for something to use as a lock. Finding nothing, he growled angrily and abandoned the doors, running further into the church and jumping over fallen pews. He could now clearly hear the three voices belonging to the Shibuya family, and could see a light coming from one of the rooms in the back. Oddly enough he couldn't even hear the wind that should've been howling through the holes in the roof and the walls.

'_Now I __**know**__ that Merwyn Fulbert was a wizard. How annoying.'_ He complained silently to himself as he burst into the room that the three Shibuya's were occupying.

"Naru-chan?!" Mrs. Shibuya exclaimed in shock, her hand clutched over her heart.

"What are you doing here?" Eugene asked.

"We have to leave!" Harry panted slightly. "We have to leave _now_!"

His lookalike blinked. "Why?"

Mr. Shibuya, on the other hand, seemed to have suddenly noticed the lack of sound from the outside, and hurried over to one of the boarded-up windows. He reached out with one hand towards the window to open it, but then suddenly stopped and jumped back just in time to avoid being trampled over by the zombie that came bursting through, splinters large and small flying throughout the room.

"Rin pyo tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen!" despite being shocked at the sudden entrance, Mrs. Shibuya didn't hesitate and cast her ward on the zombie, sending it flying backwards into the darkness outside.

"Ah. So that's why." Eugene muttered.

Harry was already at the door. "Come on! Madoka's waiting outside the wall with the van!"

"Go!" Mr. Shibuya shouted and the four of them exited the room at a sprint. They were hardly halfway to the doors when the zombies entered through them and through the windows at both sides of the room. "Up the stairs!"

Mr. Shibuya herded them all quickly up the stairs that led to the bell tower, Harry in the lead and Mr. Shibuya himself bringing up the rear. The older Japanese man whistled several times during their hurried climb, and from the corner of his eye Harry spotted a sort of creature flying towards the following zombies, giving a screech as it dove into the masses.

'_Some sort of guardian.'_ The former Boy-Who-Lived realised almost absentmindedly as he finally reached the top and looked around. The tower was small – the bell had been removed to the new church years ago – and it could hardly room all four of them. Luckily there was only one entrance to the room, and Mr. Shibuya stood there ready to battle any zombies that came through, with Mrs. Shibuya right behind him, ready to back him up.

"They can't keep it up forever." Eugene muttered, looking worriedly at his parents. "And sunrise is still hours away!"

Harry looked around. There was a window in the room – barely large enough for a grown up man to squeeze through – and he hurried over to it to look outside. The roof was fairly intact and looked strong enough to bear the weight of two grownups and two teens, and just to the left he could se Madoka waiting worriedly by the car, with absolutely no more zombies surrounding her. They could climb out on the roof, drop down into the graveyard where the drop was smallest, then run like hell to Madoka and the van, and finally reach the town where they would probably be safe. Logically speaking, there had to be a limit to how far Merwyn Fulbert's power extended.

"It's our only choice." Mr. Shibuya agreed when Harry voiced his plan.

Mrs. Shibuya was the first one out and then she helped both Eugene and Harry through, before all three helped Mr. Shibuya to get through. "I think you need to cut down on the dessert." She gently teased her husband.

"You kids wait here. We'll go first." Mr. Shibuya said to Eugene and Harry, choosing to ignore his wife's teasing comment.

"Hai." Eugene nodded, and turned back towards the window of the bell tower in order to make sure that the zombies didn't get trough, while Harry kept a watch on just how far Mr. and Mrs. Shibuya had gotten, and he would then alert Eugene and they would follow them.

The Japanese couple made their way carefully across the roof, barely avoiding several close calls of falling through the roof or slipping on the old roof tiles. However, the couple was hardly halfway to the edge of the roof, when the entire structure gave a mighty groan, the pressure in the air seemed to skyrocket, and the roof under Mr. and Mrs. Shibuya gave away and the couple fell down into the zombie-infested church.

"NO!!!!" Eugene screamed, and he would've jumped through the hole himself if Harry hadn't held him back.

'_Damn it!'_ Harry cursed silently. He could hear Mrs. Shibuya casting her nifty ward and Mr. Shibuya whistling for his guardian creatures, and Eugene had turned all his anger on the zombies coming through the window of the bell tower. It seemed like the teen planned to fight his way back into the bell tower, down the stairs and to his adoptive parents' side.

'_I can't let this end like this!'_ The former Boy-Who-Lived looked around across the graveyard from his vantage point, searching for a particular grave. When he had done the research about Merwyn Fulbert, he had also gone out and found the guy's grave in the graveyard, and all he had to do now was to locate it again. It wasn't easy, what with it being night, a dense fog and zombies all around, but he finally found the correct stone – or, rather, what he _hoped_ was the correct stone.

'_If I do this I could die.'_ He hesitated at the last second, his arm stretched out towards the gravestone. _'I may never have the chance to tell the wizarding world what I really think of them and their putting all their hopes of salvation on the shoulders of an eleven year old boy who didn't even know about them until his birthday, let alone had enough power and experience to fight one of the most powerful and evil dark lords of the century.'_

"Rin pyo tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen! Die you stupid bastards!" Eugene shouted, throwing his all into the wards he was casting.

Mr. Shibuya's whistle cut sharply through the air.

Mrs. Shibuya's chanting joined with Eugene's.

'_Fuck the wizarding world!'_ Harry growled angrily, new determination welling up within him. He grabbed the wrist of his outstretched arm in order to steady it, and then started to do something he hadn't done in two years. He started gathering his magic and forced the flow towards his outstretched arm, through the arm and into his palm. It didn't take long before he had a blue-ish flame of power dancing around his hand, though it didn't burn him.

But with the power came the activation of the Curse of Valpurgis, and he could feel the runes and patterns that the aurors had once painted on him, appear again on his skin, glowing a darkish purple, hot as coals, spreading all over his chest and arms, and actually burning up his clothes wherever they touched, so it didn't take long before he stood there naked from the waist up. The curse was painful, more painful than anything Harry had ever imagined before, but he didn't let it overwhelm him and hung on, building up as much power as he possibly could. The centre of the curse, placed directly over his heart, went from dark purple to a vicious orange, and the pain became too much.

With a grunt of pain and sweat on his face, Harry released his power, sending the blue-ish beam straight towards the gravestone he had picked out. The gravestone and the grave it was set to mark were both blown to smithereens and there was nothing left of either. The grave had, luckily, been the correct one, and the zombies froze up and then turned into dust, disappearing in the wind.

Harry hardly noticed any of this. He was bent over and panting, trying in vain to fight against the pain caused by the curse, hand pressing down on the seal above his heart. Darkness was creeping up on him, and he lost his balance, falling over and rolling towards the edge of the roof.

"_NARU_!!!!"

-x-x-x-x-

Harry slowly opened his eyes, giving them ample time to get used to the bright light of the room, and then finally he took the time to seriously look around the room he was in.

It was a white room.

A white hospital room.

A white hospital room and he was hooked up to an IV.

'_Well, bugger.'_ Was all the former Boy-Who-Lived could think of at that moment. _'How the hell am I supposed to pay for this?'_

Not only was that a concern, but those annoying Childcare Service-people were bound to show up any moment, and then they would drag him back to the Dursley's where he would continue being a slave and being watched by the wizarding world 24/7. Sneering at the thought, Harry sat up in the bed, wincing slightly as a couple of sore muscles made themselves known. He needed to get out of the hospital as soon as he could.

And as soon as he found something else to wear other than the hospital gown that was his current attire.

'_What the hell happened to put me in a hospital in the first place?_' the teen wondered as he stared out of the window. His musings were interrupted when the door to his room opened and someone who could be passed off as Harry's twin entered, his face lighting up upon seeing Harry sitting up in bed.

"Naru-chan! You're awake!" the other teen shouted and threw himself at the bed-ridden male, bringing him into a tight hug.

"Wha-!" Harry gasped under the force of the hug and was about to tell this weirdo to go take a long walk off a short precipice, when the memories came rushing back. The Shibuya couple, Eugene, Madoka, ghost hunting, and the annoying ghost of Merwyn Fulbert. "Eugene, what the devil do you think you are doing?"

Eugene looked at him, then promptly bonked him on the head. "_You_ nearly gave _us_ a freaking heart attack, you jerk! Not to mention the heart attack that you had yourself!"

"What the hell?!" Harry rubbed the aching spot, and glared at Eugene. "What was that for?"

"For not being careful especially considering that you are cursed with the Curse of Valpurgis, is what!" the other teen growled angrily, his eyes practically sparking in his anger.

Harry froze up at that, and then looked away. _'They know.'_ The revelation didn't exactly shock him, but now he really had no idea how to act around the Shibuya family and Madoka, nor had he any idea of how they would act around him.

Two pairs of feminine arms wound themselves around him, and Harry was pulled into a joint hug by Mrs. Shibuya and Madoka, while Mr. Shibuya stood close by with Eugene. When the grown up trio had entered, Harry had no idea, he simply sat there in the hug, stiff as a board and wondering what the hell was going on and whether he was going to get hurt again or not.

Mrs. Shibuya pulled back slightly, a watery smile on her face, and put a gentle hand on Harry's cheek. "You saved us all, dear one."

"To have lived with such a curse binding your powers and your tongue at this young age..." Madoka sighed against Harry's back and gently tightened her hold of the dark teen.

"You are very strong and brave." Mr. Shibuya added, his hands placed on Eugene's shoulders, and Eugene nodded.

"My brave, honourable, strong Kazuya." Mrs. Shibuya said, gently running her fingers through Harry's fringe.

Harry was somewhat overwhelmed by everything – he had never expected someone to actually find out about the curse, and not shun him for it – so his brain focused on the one thing that he seemed to have a relative grasp on. "W-wait! What are you talking about? My name is not 'Kazuya'." He protested.

Mr. Shibuya stepped closer now. "Yes, well, since we adopted you we decided that we couldn't keep calling you 'Naru' at all times, so we gave you a new name."

Now this Harry knew how to deal with. "WHAT?!" he practically roared, glaring angrily up at Mr. Shibuya.

"Think of it as a business venture," Mr. Shibuya replied calmly. "We get yet another excellent ghost hunter now that Madoka-san is going off on her own, and you get the chance to search for a way to break the curse, with access to material and information you would never even have dreamed of before."

The former Boy-Who-Lived glared at the Japanese man, his wants torn between being cautious and wanting to work with the magical once again, and perhaps, as Mr. Shibuya said, find a way to break the Curse of Valpurgis.

"Then again, there's a group of Childcare people outside, practically beating down the door in order to get to you, Mr. Harry Potter." Mr. Shibuya smirked. "The choice is simple."

"_You_...!" Harry growled, his midnight-blue eyes flashing green as his caged magic rose to his uncontrollable anger. _'The bloody bastard has backed me neatly into a corner!'_

Eugene stepped forwards, wincing as if physically hurt when Harry's glare transferred to him, but he kept going until he was face to face with the enraged teen. "You will not lose your freedom, Naru."

"In fact, this entire situation is to your advantage, Naru." Madoka threw in her two cents. Neither she nor Mrs. Shibuya had moved from the bed, their arms still around the dark teen.

'_They are right. The Childcare Service people will be off my back, I will get access to resources that the wizarding world would never dream of even telling me about, and I can learn about ghosts and why Voldemort's ghost disintegrated when I touched it.'_ Harry knew this. But he was still scared of being hurt like he had with the Dursley's and in the wizarding world.

There was a knocking on the door, and the voice of a female Childcare worker that Harry had had several non-friendly run-ins with, came through the door. "I know you are in there, you little brat! Open this door at once!"

Harry's face went emotionless when he heard the woman. She reminded him of a mix between a toad and one of Aunt Marge's beloved dogs, and ever since the first time he had given her the slip, she had made it into her personal mission to hunt him down and return him to the Dursley's. He turned back to stare at Mr. Shibuya, noting the challenging glitter in the man's eyes.

Harry never was able to say no to a challenge.

"Where do I sign?" he asked.

Mr. Shibuya smiled and held out a piece of paper. "We already have your former guardians' signatures on everything needed. All you need to do is sign here on the form to change your name."

Accepting the pen a grinning Madoka held out to him, Harry quickly skimmed over the paper Mr. Shibuya held. He was no expert on legal mattes like these, but the paper seemed to be in order as far as he could tell. Putting pen to paper, Harry signed his current name – the name associated with the Boy-Who-Lived – for, hopefully, the last time in his life.

Harry James Potter was no more.

-x-x-x-x-

Ghost hunting soon became Harry's life. It was challenging, engaging, informative, and everything else he could have ever wished for, and he was damn good at it as well. Mr. and Mrs. Shibuya and Eugene taught him everything they knew, and Madoka hung around a great deal as well. And Harry slowly started to relax and accept their presence in his life. But he was still hesitant about trusting them with his life, and that was quickly becoming a serious problem.

"I worry for Naru," Mrs. Shibuya said to her husband one evening. They were, once again, in the hospital after the teen they had adopted eight months ago had used his powers yet again.

Mr. Shibuya nodded. "I know. He is so used to taking care of himself that he doesn't know how to let others do it for him, even if it costs him his life. We could have easily handled those ghouls yesterday, and he knew this, yet he used his own powers stubborn, independent child that he is."

"If I ever meet up with those people that hurt him and put the Valpurgis on him..." Madoka trailed off angrily.

"This cannot continue." Mrs. Shibuya sighed. "He could die!"

"He needs someone to keep him from using his powers, and yet someone strong enough to make him feel safe when not using his powers." The Japanese man suddenly grinned. "And I have just the perfect person in mind."

Madoka blinked. "Who do you mean?"

"A younger friend of mine, and also a fellow onmyouji. Yes, Koujo Lin is more than strong enough to protect and control our stubborn Naru-chan."

-x-x-x-x-

Harry growled angrily, glaring for all he was worth and twisting in the magical restraints that a certain tall Chinese man named Koujo Lin had bound him in. While the rest of them were throwing their all at the approaching ghosties and ghoulies, he was bound and practically gagged, and was forced to simply watch. And this wasn't the first time it had happened either. Ever since Lin had joined their little ghost hunting group, the man had restrained Harry as soon as the teenager showed any signs of using his powers. Harry could easily break out of these restraints, that wasn't the problem at all. The problem was that by the time he did break out, the fight would be over, or someone would notice his power growing and renew the restraints.

And Eugene wasn't helping at all when he started laughing at Harry's predicament.

He knew why they were taking such extreme precautions, and he couldn't fault them for it, really. But he couldn't help it that it definitely didn't sit well with him to simply stay back as the rest of them battled whatever monster it was this week.

He growled angrily again, looking away from the fight, and stopped fighting the bonds.

This did not sit well with him at all.

-x-x-x-x-

Lin really wasn't such a bad guy once one got past his apparent eagerness to throw binding spells on poor unsuspecting people, and his hatred for Japanese folks. And while Eugene had a long and serious and emotional talk with the Chinese man about said hatred, Harry simply sent the tall man a dull look and told him to "Stop being stupid. Besides, I am not Japanese."

Things went better, and slowly Harry gained enough trust in Lin's skills, knowledge, power and companionship to relax around the man. And though his fingers twitched each time they met with another monster that needed eradicating, Harry managed to keep himself back and let Lin take care of it.

The two of them became a team.

Therefore it was no great shock that Lin was with Harry when it happened.

A muggle-clad Severus Snape, bastard Potion Master of Hogwarts and Harry Potter hater deluxe, stood in the doorway of Harry's and Lin's shared apartment, glaring and looking like he would rather be on the other side of the universe than here.

"_Well? Going to invite me in or what, Potter?_" the Head of Slytherin House sneered.

Harry was tense as a bowstring, and was glaring right back at the Potion Master, and Lin easily picked up on that. The Chinese man would've shut the door in Snape's face if Harry hadn't sighed and said, in Japanese, of course, "Let him in, Lin."

"Who is this man, Naru?" Lin asked quietly.

But Snape had heard him and replied in perfect, if accented, Japanese. "I am a former teacher. And I was there when they put him under the curse."

"Which begets the question as to why you are here now," Harry said coldly.

Snape actually sighed and looked tired. "Do not worry, Potter, I am the only one who has managed to track you down. The rest of those dunderheads at the Ministry couldn't find their way in a straight corridor even with a Point-me spell."

"What do you want?" Lin repeated Harry's question.

"It is a long story." Snape sat down uninvited.

"We have time." Harry replied just as emotionlessly as before, and with an obvious hint to start telling said long story.

Snape's black, narrow eyes stared at Harry, and then he nodded. "Then I shall tell you what Dumbledore should have told you years ago, Potter." And Snape kept to his word and was brutally honest. He told Harry and Lin about the prophecy, about his own role in the previous war with Voldemort and even showed them the dark mark, about the reason why harry had been placed with the Dursley's, and everything else that was important.

"They did not even offer training to the one who was supposed to save them from this Dark Lord Voldemort?" Lin was shocked, and rightfully so. "That is simply ridiculous! What reasons could they have to do that?"

"An old man's attempt to give a young boy a good childhood." Snape sneered, then focused his attention on Harry. "This is, by the way, Dumbledore's reason for not helping you out when they put the curse on you. The Headmaster figured you would be safer and happier if everyone let you be and thought you harmless. And then, when the time was right, he was going to come like a knight in shining armour and free you from the curse, upon which point you would, of course, as the Gryffindor you are, offer to off the Dark Lord for us."

Harry could feel a cold mask fall over his face. "And Dumbledore would've been wrong in his assumption if it wasn't for this prophecy – if we are to believe you."

"Look, Potter, I hated your father and, quite frankly, I despise you," the Potion Master growled. "But I am not blind or cuddling like the headmaster. The Dark Lord has seven horcruxes and he is still alive. He will get his body back and he will come for you. Unfortunately for the rest of us, you are our only hope in beating the Dark Lord, and it will not help us if you have no idea what you are up against or how to fight it – the most innocent and happy person in the world, or not."

"And what do you intend to do about it, Snape?" Harry asked.

The Head of Slytherin glared and leaned forwards. "I am going to push as much information and knowledge as I possibly can into that thick skull of yours, and hope for the best."

-x-x-x-x-

Things really sped up after that, what with Snape and Lin being the strictest of taskmasters, Harry's own drive to do everything perfect, the ghost hunting business and everything else that happened around it all. Several years passed in this manner, and Harry and Eugene soon had their 17th birthdays.

It was also this year that tragedy struck.

Eugene was off with Madoka on a case in Japan – and was practically going waxing poetic about a young spirit medium named Hara Masako he had briefly met – while Harry was with the Shibuya's and Lin, working on a case in China, when the news reached them. Eugene was missing, most likely dead, his body missing. There were some rumours of a car accident, but the police could do nothing except write it off as an unsolved case. The loss of a son nearly broke Mrs. Shibuya and the Japanese couple retreated from the ghost hunting business, and retired to England of all places.

Harry – though becoming even more quiet and withdrawn – couldn't simply give up or accept his adopted brother's death as an unsolved case, and begged and pleaded with the Shibuya's until they gave him their permission and blessing to move to Japan and to attempt to find out what had really happened. And where Harry went, Lin followed.

This was how **S**hibuya**P**sychic**R**esearch – SPR – came to exist.

-x-x-x-x-

One day, about a year after SPR was founded, the elderly principal of a school came into the office.

"Thank you," the elderly man said when Lin put tea in front of him, then turned to Harry. "Please investigate this case, Shibuya-san."

"You mentioned something about an old school building over the phone, Inada-san," Harry replied calmly, noting that Lin had gotten his laptop by now, and was more than ready to write down anything that the principal said. "Could you please elaborate?"

The principal went on to explain the history of the old school building, and the slew of accidents and happenings that surrounded it. It had been tried to demolish it once before, but several accidents and a runaway truck had quickly put a stop to it. "The thing is, we need the space for a new gymnasium," the principal finished. "And the rumours always attract a few venturous students, daring them to enter and explore the old building. Who knows what might happen to them in there?"

Harry and Lin exchanged a quick look, then Harry nodded to the principal. "We shall take the case, Inada-san." He said to the man, ignoring the shiver of magic that ran down his spine and that seemed to warn him that his life was about to change again.

The investigation started as usual, and the equipment was easily set up without any trouble. While Lin kept an eye at it and went through the research they had already gathered, Harry had decided to walk through the school – with the principal's permission, of course – to check out the entire place. It was break-time right now, so there were a great deal of students in the corridors, and some pointed and whispered when he walked by, but Harry ignored them all easily. On the top, relatively empty floor of the school he came across a classroom where the lights were turned off and the drapes were pulled across the windows, hindering all light from entering.

'_What's this now?'_ the former Boy-Who-Lived mused to himself upon hearing muffled female voices from inside.

"... the same kind of incidents started happening again." A girl was saying. "A driver lost control of his truck, and ran over some students that were on the volleyball court. And I talked to a sempai, and she said that went she passed the building late one evening, she..."

Harry ignored the rest of what the girl was saying and gently and silently opened the door, and slipped inside. _'They are obviously talking about the old school building. Might be interesting to check out.'_

There were three girls inside the room from what Harry could see through the darkness, and one of them held a small flashlight that she now turned off. He silently shook his head, realising that he had come across nothing more than a couple of girls telling each other ghost stories. Each of them had a flashlight and they told ghost stories one by one, turning off their flashlight when done. And at the end of it, they would count and a ghost might show up. It was foolish. But it was too late to leave now, so all he could do was wait.

"Here we go..." one of the girls whispered. "_Ichi_ – one."

"_Ni_ – two."

"_San_ – three." The third girl counted.

"_Shi_ – four." Harry said.

The girls froze, gasped and then squealed and screamed that a ghost had appeared, until Harry decided to spare his eardrums and turned on the lights. The girls looked around in confusion, blinking at the sudden bright light, and finally spotted him.

"W-was that you, just now?" one of the girls asked shakily.

"Did I do something wrong?" Harry lowered his hand from the switch.

The girls sighed and relaxed as one. "I thought I was going to die!"

"Excuse me. The lights were out so I thought no one was here until I heard the voices," Harry walked further into the classroom, smiling slightly at the girls, though the smile never reached his eyes.

But it seemed enough, and two of the girls went all squeal-y on him, blushing brightly and running up to him. "That is... it's alright! What year are you in?"

"I will be 18 this year."

"That'd make you an upperclassman!" the two girls squealed. "We were telling ghost stories."

Harry played along. "Is that so? Would you mind if I joined you next time?"

"You like ghost stories too, sempai?"

"Well..."

That was more than enough answer to the girls and they squealed and giggled, and told him that he was more than welcome to their next session of telling ghost stories.

"Uhm... would you mind telling us your name?" the long-haired girl asked.

"Shibuya." Harry replied, still smiling his empty smile. "My name is Shibuya Kazuya."

The third girl in the room – who had so far been silent – now demanded to know what he was doing there. "Shibuya-san, what were you doing here in this room?"

Harry headed towards the front of the classroom, ignoring the way his magic ran up and down his spine when his eyes had briefly met the girl's. "I have some things to take care of."

"Well, then why don't you hurry up and-" the girl began, but her two friends cut her off and offered to help Harry search.

"No, there is no need." Harry assured them. "How about you let me take you up on your offer, and join next time you tell ghost stories?"

"Of course!" the two girls in front of him squealed, while the third sent him a suspicious look. "Tomorrow in our homeroom which is..."

Harry tuned them out and just wished that he had never entered the classroom in the first place.

Early next morning Harry and Lin were already at work before the school even started. Their van was stationed outside the old school building and they had put up a couple of cameras inside for a test run before they brought all the equipment in. Harry had been sitting up front in the van, going through some papers, when Lin jumped out of the back and ran into the old building with a scowl at his lips. Seconds later, Harry was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of crashing and banging coming from inside and he jumped out of the car and ran to the entrance.

Lin laid half buried under one of the shelves that had fallen over, the camera lay broken on the ground, and the short-haired girl from yesterday looked like she had just had a terrible scare, kneeling by Lin's head. "A-are you alright?!" she was asking Lin. "Someone-!"

"What's going on? Lin, what happened? It looks like a small cut," Harry asked and helped Lin sit up, noting the small cut on the Chinese man's temple. "Can you stand?"

"Yes." Lin replied with a slight wince.

"Uhm... I'm really sorry!" the girl apologised. "I just heard a voice all of a sudden and then-"

"Never mind the excuses," the former Boy-Who-Lived cut her off. "Is there a clinic nearby?"

She nodded, and went to help the Chinese man. "There's one just outside the school gates."

Lin, of course, refused her help. "I am fine. I do not need your help."

"We met yesterday, didn't we? What is your name?" Harry asked her while supporting Lin.

"Taniyama Mai."

"Well then, Taniyama-san, I think I should let you know that the school bell just rang."

The girl blinked comically in shock then ran off in panic. "NO WAY!!!!! I'M LATE!!!!"

After practically blackmailing and bribing the girl into becoming his assistant for this case, and meeting up with the Kuroda-girl and hearing her theory about the supposed ghosts of the old school building, Harry quickly set Mai to work with building the shelves for all the equipment, while he himself got the rest of the boxes. The room he had chosen as a base for this case was an old classroom, and easily large enough to hold all the equipment without taking up all the space. Once everything was up and running, he let her go home for the day, but reminded her that she owed him for both hurting his assistant and for breaking a camera, and told her to come back the next day.

"Good morning!" Mai greeted him when she appeared. "What are you doing?"

"Going over the data from last night," Harry replied and wrote down the information. "There is nothing significant."

"Well! That's quite the load of equipment," a new voice broke in. "Seems a bit pricey for children's toys."

The two newcomers were a red-haired woman and a tall man with light-brown hair. The woman's make-up was expertly done, her lips painted bright red. She wore a yellow casual suit with green flower-design, and had high heels. The man beside her seemed to be a bit of a rebel of some sort, with long hair in a pony-tail and several earrings.

Harry was not impressed. "And you are?"

"I am Matsuzaki Ayako, a miko." The woman replied with a smirk. "It seems like the school's principal can't rely on you, so here we are."

"I thought miko were pure, innocent virgins." Harry said, giving the woman an once-over, and sending the tall man and Mai into a fit of snickers. But he was right in doubting her, Ayako looked nothing like a miko.

"My, my..." Ayako twitched, but managed to keep her cool. "You don't see me that way?"

"You seem a little old to be a virgin," Harry commented emotionlessly.

Ayako blushed slightly and glared. "Th-that's quite the insolent tongue you have, boy!" she growled.

The dark teen ignored her, and turned to the man. "And you? You aren't Matsuzaki-san's assistant, are you?"

The man grinned. "No kidding. I'm a monk from Mt. Kouya. The name's Takigawa Houshou."

"Since when were monks allowed to have long hair?"

"_Hakaisou_," Ayako coughed unconvincingly. "He's a monk that has left his position as a monk."

Now it was the man who glared and twitched. "I'm on extended vacation!" he protested, then brought the subject back on track. "Anyways, children's play time is over. The principal doesn't feel like he could rely on you alone, Shibuya; after all, you're only a kid."

"Is that so?" Harry wondered, not really caring.

Ayako sighed. "The principal's making a really big deal of this too. Bringing in so many people for such an old rundown building..."

The miko and the monk continued to exchange barbs for another couple of minutes before the Kuroda-girl showed up, talking about restless spirits and complaining about headaches. Ayako showed no sympathy or belief in the girl's claims, and the entire ordeal ended with the Kuroda-girl threatening and cursing them all and walking away angrily.

Mai, who had tried to defend the other girl, looked around uncomfortably before she focused back on her new boss. "H-hey, Naru-chan, what should I do today?"

Harry blinked and stood up, towering slightly over the girl. "What did you say just now? Did you call me 'Naru'?"

"Uhm, ah, s-sorry, I didn't mean..." Mai trailed off nervously.

"Where did you hear that?" Harry cut her off.

Mai looked surprised. "Eh? Could it be that other people call you that? I knew it!" she patted his shoulder with a nervous laugh. "Just about anyone would think of 'Narcissist Naru-chan'!"

"Hello everyone, I have brought another person." The principal of the school interrupted the moment, and stepped aside to let the young man in question step forwards. "This is John Brown-san."

"I be tickled pink! I hail from Australia. I be John Brown, I'm real pleased to meet y'all." John Brown greeted them all happily, sending half of them into fits of giggles with his strong accent.

The principal was quick to make an excuse. "Uhm, well, it seems like Brown-san learned Japanese over in the Kansai area so please excuse the accent."

"And are you another senser of spirits?" Ayako managed to ask between her giggles.

"I be what you might call an exorcist." John replied lightly, effectively putting an end to the monk's and the miko's laughter.

Harry looked at the slightly shorter teen. "If I recall correctly for Catholics, you have to be a priest before you can become an exorcist. You sure are young."

"You're well informed on the matter." The short-haired blond laughed. "But despite my appearance I am 19 years old. I am more skilled than I look."

The principal left them, and the entire group went up to the base Harry and Mai had set up, most of them looking rather awed with the equipment. Ayako had gone to explore the house, only the end up getting herself locked inside one of the rooms and then continued to rant and rave about there definitely being a ghost in the old school building.

"There is nothing here. There is no sense of any supernatural presence in this building."

The group looked towards the entrance, spotting an unknown, pale girl in a traditional kimono standing there. Mai squeaked and grabbed onto Harry's shirt, muttering about the ghost finally showing itself.

"That girl is no ghost." Harry informed her, his eyes never leaving the new arrival. _'So that is Hara Masako, the infamous spirit medium that Eugene was so hung up on.'_

"Have I met you somewhere before?" Masako inquired, her eyes focused on Harry.

"No, this is the first time we have met," Harry replied emotionlessly.

While the others argued about what kind of spirit might be haunting the building, Harry tapped his chin thoughtfully with a nail that he had picked up. He was more than inclined to listen to Masako and conclude that there were no spirits here – especially since his developed senses told him that there was no real supernatural happenings here – but, then again, the spirits could be strong enough to hide their presence from them all, which would be really worrisome. Until he had any real evidence of what was going on, he would withhold his opinion on the matter, but he would continue to research and continue to record all that went on inside the house.

Well, things certainly got interesting afterwards. Ayako's attempt at a Shinto-style exorcism didn't work to drive out the spirits, resulting in the glass-windows on the ground floor exploding and showering the miko, the principal and the vice-principal in sharp glass shards. Later that same day, Masako still insisted that there were no spirits around, even after she fell through a thin plywood wall on the second floor and had to be taken to the hospital. Later, when they watched the tape of what had happened, they noticed a chair moving on its own in one of the abandoned classrooms – incidentally, it was the same classroom that Masako would have her accident in later on. Then John decided to try an exorcism himself in the very same classroom, and nearly got buried when the roof collapsed, only barely being saved by Mai. Things were getting tense and dangerous.

After sending Mai home that evening, Harry spent the night doing further research and wishing that Lin was out of the hospital. Either way, by morning he had found the answer as to why the roof collapsed and they heard all those creaking and groaning sounds inside the house. Mai found him sleeping in the back of the van, only covered with his customary black jacket. She had woke him up, and it didn't take long before John, Ayako and the monk – and, surprisingly, Kuroda as well – had gathered around as well, and he explained things to them.

"Land subsidence?!" Monk-san exclaimed in surprise as he studied the graphs that Harry had found.

"The building sank more than 0.2 inch just last night," Harry explained with his customary lack of emotions. "This whole development was built on top of damp ground. The foundation is weak because this structure was built on damp soil. In addition, there's an underground water vein that runs right under the school, and it is half dried out – and the neighbourhood wells that I checked, are completely dry as well. All these factors are causing the land to shift and settle, and this particular area of the school building is settling much faster than the other side, which has caused the structure to deform and break apart. The west side is three inches lower than the other side."

Monk-san groaned. "What a mess! So that's the cause of the collapsed ceiling that nearly crushed John, and the moving chair."

"Three inches? That's about 7.5 centimetres," John blinked in surprise. "That's a big gap."

"This area should be declared unsafe," Harry finished. "Sooner rather than later, the old school building will collapse."

Mai and John helped him to pack away all his equipment, the girl looking somewhat sad that the adventure was over. The monk and the miko were there as well, as was the Kuroda-girl, constantly insisting that there were ghosts around and that she could still feel them, and that they had attacked her not so long ago. Harry hadn't cared about it really, and made a comment about it being a ghost that was purposefully haunting Kuroda herself, which shut her up.

"I feel like the dream is ending," Mai said as she closed one of the final boxes holding equipment. Everyone looked at her. "I mean, there are always these old school buildings and lots of stories about them. I don't like the thought of people dying, but telling ghost stories is just harmless fun."

"Indeed..." Harry muttered, sending the girl a look. Something had been tickling in the back of his mind for a while now, something about this case, but he still couldn't grasp a hold of it. He needed to visit Lin and discuss the case with him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of cracking glass, and everyone turned towards the sound in time to see the glass of the windows explode outwards and rain over the Kuroda-girl, who screamed. The building started shaking, true rapping and knocking noises coming from all around, and the doors to the classroom they were standing in started sliding open and shut, making it completely impossible for them to get out that way. Harry simply stood there frozen for a second, honestly confused about how he could be so wrong.

"This is really bad!" Monk-san exclaimed.

That woke Harry up. "Everyone get out! The building is collapsing!"

"But the doors...!" Mai looked pale.

"Leave that to me!" the monk replied, picked up one of the few chairs in the room and threw it through the closest window, and they all climbed out, thanking heaven that the base had been set up in a classroom on the ground floor. Once outside they simply stood there and stared up at the old building, wondering what had happened. The monk and the miko weren't slow in attacking Harry's theory of land subsidence, and walked away quickly.

Mai had by now spotted the small cut Harry had received upon climbing through the window, but Harry ignored her. He was feeling the need to be alone and think things through, and he also felt self-loathing that he couldn't sole such a simple case as this. That, and he needed to visit Lin and discuss everything with the Chinese man. Which is exactly what he did. Lin sat in his hospital bed – he would be released the day after tomorrow – and listened quietly to everything Harry told him, a thoughtful frown upon his face.

"You said that Kuroda-san was there all the time?" Lin asked after a long while in silence.

"Aa," Harry nodded. "She was. She keeps insisting that she has seen and felt ghosts in the building, but Hara-san did not find anything at all, and I am more likely to believe her than a simple school girl." He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"You know that more than half of the poltergeist phenomena around are caused by stressed teenagers," Lin said. "Could it not be the case that Kuroda-san has some measure of spiritual powers and unconsciously uses them to cause the shaking and the knocking while you all were there? She keeps on insisting that there are ghosts around, but none of you pay her much attention and, as you said, not giving much credibility to her claims."

Harry's eyes snapped open, and he stared at Lin for a second. That was it! That was the thing that had been teasing him from the back of his mind. Of course, he needed to prove this assumption, but he knew how to do that. He bid Lin a good night before he hurried out of the room and to the closest pay phone. He had a couple of calls to make and to arrange things for tomorrow.

The next day he had gathered the entire gang, as well as Mai and Kuroda, in the principal's office and had conducted the experiment to prove his theory. It worked like a charm. The trap was laid and the culprit walked straight into it. The day after, Lin was back by his side with a camcorder in one hand and a crutch in the other, ready to tape the results. This time he was correct in everything and the case really was solved. Kuroda was confronted, Ayako's ruffled feathers were smoothed, and things were explained to everyone's satisfaction. It had been land subsidence that had caused most of the noises and accidents, but Kuroda's silent wish to make people notice her had created the poltergeist-phenomena. To keep Kuroda from getting expelled or whatever, the principal was told that they had solved the case and exorcised the spirits as a team, and that the demolition of the old school building could commence. And Kuroda got to tell everyone how she had helped to battle the spirits, and got lots of attention.

Harry didn't really care what happened in the days after his and Lin's departure; he had other things to worry about.

"That's the third assistant this month," Lin sighed into his tea.

Madoka, who was there on a short visit, sent the Chinese man a dull look. "Then stop scaring them away, you two." She chided them. "It wouldn't hurt you to really smile once in a while, you know. And you, Naru! Your attitude could use an adjustment."

"Not to worry, I have the perfect assistant in mind, and I doubt she will scare easily like the others," Harry said and walked over to the phone. He dialled a number, talked to the receptionist on the other side for a moment and then waited, totally ignoring the curious looks that the other two people kept sending him.

Finally the person he was waiting for picked up. "_Hello_?"

"Mai?" he said, repeating himself once more when all he got in reply was silence.

"_Yes! Yes, that's me_!" Mai nearly shouted through the phone.

"You don't have to scream." He told her.

She seemed to gather herself. "_Ah, yes. Uhm, what can I do for you_?"

"Your payment."

"_Huh_?"

"I'm talking about your assistant fee. If you don't want it, I won't force you to take it." Harry said, knowing he was throwing the girl totally off. He had found a new hobby in riling her up and messing with her.

"_I wasn't expecting for you to pay me, but I won't turn it down._" She finally said.

"Do you have your bank account number?"

"_No, not with me! I'm at school!_"

"Then I'll send a check. What's your address?" he wrote down the address. "I'll send it within a week. Oh, and does your school allow you to work part-time?"

"_Sure, not a problem._" Mai sounded somewhat annoyed.

"I see... do you want to work part-time at my office?" he asked her, once again throwing her for a loop. "It's an administrative job, but I'm short on some staff – someone quit the other-"

She didn't let him finish speaking before she, once again, shouted her answer through the phone. "_Yes! Yes, I want it!_"

The girl really was hyper, Harry mused. And amusing, he added. He gave her the address. "Please come by the office when you have time, and we will work out the particular details."

"_Ah, well, how about the day after tomorrow – Saturday?_"

"Saturday is fine, I will be here all day. Oh, and by the way, it was nice working with you. Thank you for all your help. I'll see you on Saturday, then."

"_Yes! See you on Saturday!_"

And that was how Taniyama Mai came to work for the SPR, and once again things changed drastically in Harry's life.

-x-x-x-x-

There you go. Please tell me what you think.

A good deal of the dialogue and the last (long) paragraph here, was taken from the manga and the anime.

This is about as realistically 'bad' I can make Dumbledore, and I had lots of fun writing Fudge and just how stupid the wizarding world could be.

And there WILL be a sequel/continuation to this fic in the future, because – as you can see – it is far from finished. But the second part hasn't been completed yet, and I wanted to take a break from writing this x-over and get back to my regular fics. So, though the second part of this will come, there might be one or two different one-shots between this and that.

Thanks to:

Chosha Kurenai, Honebar, Fullmetal Angyl, Firehedgehog, Falling Right Side-Up, Blades of Silver, lildevil425, aly-of-tribond, dm, Hikari Kaiya, Fate, Adnexus, kit, kirallie, Rei Tamashii, nssk2202, Rain Raider, Darshu, Lemo, Dragonmage182, yllom21, Ie-maru, blue-eyed-blond227, Ariaeris, Andromalius, RoxasIsReal13, silverspun, and Saturnblue.


	5. HP & Final Fantasy XII 'slash'

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer:** I own only the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Square Enix.

**Author's Note:** I apologise for the long wait between updates. But now my exams are (finally) over, and I shall do my best to update everything.

**Crossover:** Harry Potter & Final Fantasy XII.

**Pairing:** Balthier/Harry

**Warning:** Disregards the epilogue of the '_Deathly Hollows_' Potter-wise, and two men having sex.

**Rating:** M

**One-shot #5: Ballad of Serenity**

It wasn't enough that Harry had defeated Voldemort for them, no, now the wizarding world wanted him to live up to their ridiculous standards and wanted him to get married, settle down and make a flock of little Potters. Not only that, but they had also picked out the person that he was to marry without ever even asking whether or not Harry had wanted it. It was at this point that Harry had had enough, and he had left. Honestly, the wizarding world could go jump off a cliff for all that he cared.

He had walked through the Veiled Arch in the Department of Mysteries, and had ended up in Balfonheim, had become apprenticed to an airship mechanic, and had quickly gotten a reputation for being the best mechanic in Ivalice. No one knew that Harry cheated like the dickens, and that there was very little a few simple Repario-spells couldn't fix. Of course, magic could never last and there was only so many times one could use magic to fix something before it really had to be replaced, but Harry's customers were happy and that was all there was to it.

At least that's what Harry had thought until a certain sky pirate duo had showed up, not with a ship to fix, but a demand for Harry to come with them and be their ship's mechanic. Harry had stared at the two, a rather dandy-looking Hume and a Viera of all things, and had simply laughed.

One should never laugh at Balthier because the man had an annoying tendency to take that as a challenge, and usually won said perceived challenge.

All this Harry quickly found out as he, not even two days after being visited by Balthier and Fran, found himself running for his life through the streets of Balfonheim, doing his best to escape a group of Bangaa head-hunters. Harry had taken a wrong turn, and had found himself at a dead end with the head-hunters getting closer and closer. The green-eyed male had looked down the sheer drop of cliff to the sea below, and then had looked back the way he had come, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now.

"Well, well," drawled a voice from the shadows of a doorway, and Balthier stepped out into the light. "You seem to be in a spot of bother."

"What the devil are you doing here?" Harry demanded, not really in any mood to deal with the infuriating sky pirate captain.

"I am here to make a deal," Balthier replied and stepped closer to Harry.

"A deal?" the green-eyed man twitched. He had larger problems to worry about.

"It is very simple, actually. I save you from the head-hunters, and you take up the post as the _Strahl_'s mechanic."

"That's blackmail!"

"I am well aware of that." Balthier smirked. "Look, either you accept the offer or you don't, but the head-hunters are getting closer, and I don't fancy playing a round of peek-a-boo with them right now. So, what say you?" he stretched out a ring-adorned hand towards Harry, and waited.

Harry groaned. "Do I have a bloody choice?" he snarled and accepted the other man's hand in a firm grip.

"Excellent." Balthier's grin had turned devilish and suddenly he had wound an arm around Harry's waist, and had jumped off the cliff pulling a shocked Harry with him. They hadn't fallen far before Fran had appeared on a hover-bike and they had landed on the seat behind her. Well, Balthier had landed while Harry had to cling to the sky pirate in order not to fall to his very painful death.

"Wait! My things are still back in the city!" Harry said and looked back at the disappearing city of Balfonheim.

"No, they are not." Fran replied with a quick look over her shoulder, and continued to steer the hover-bike through the landscape surrounding Balfonheim.

"What the devil is that supposed to mean?"

"Your things, pet, are already aboard the _Strahl_," Balthier drawled, his firm grip on Harry never wavering.

"_What_?!" Harry had looked from the Hume to the Viera several times, before it had dawned on him and his eyes had flashed angrily. "You planned all this! You were the ones who sent those damned Bangaa head-hunters after me! _You bloody pirates_!"

Balthier and Fran simply laughed.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry was straddling a firm body with strong, sinewy muscles, dotted with the occasional scar from beasts and enemies, the reclining man's cock buried firmly and deeply inside Harry's body. Strong, callused hands were gripping Harry's slender hips almost to the point of bruising, and were also helping the smaller, black-haired male move up and down on the cock at a harsh and relentless pace. Moans, mewls and whimpers came from the green-eyed male, his hands clawing slightly at the other's chest as the pleasure built up.

"Nngh! Bal-Balthier!" Harry whimpered his lover's name, his back arching and head thrown backwards as the sky pirate's cock hit his prostate.

"Mmmn..." the russet-haired man moaned, then he grabbed a hold of Harry's legs and with a quick twist the green-eyed male was lying on his back on the mattress. Balthier continued to thrust into the smaller man, and bit down on Harry's neck then continued to suck on the same place, leaving a very obvious hickey.

Harry's breath hitched at the new angle of penetration, one of his hands finding its way into Balthier's hair while the other clawed at the older man's back, leaving light red stripes behind. One of his legs was firmly held by Balthier over the older man's shoulder, and the pace that was set was hard and fast, their bodies getting closer and closer to the edge of bliss.

The two of them had been off-and-on lovers (the term would be fuck-buddies if one wanted to be crude) for a couple of years, ever since Balthier and Fran had picked up Harry to be the resident mechanic aboard the _Strahl_. It was a rather good agreement on both parts, and it was a good way to relieve stress and frustration without having to wait until they reached the next port, or wonder if this or that particular person they were to spend the night with was going to be the one that killed them in their sleep. It was dangerous to be a sky pirate, and one never really knew whom one could trust.

When Balthier had suggested this little arrangement, Harry had wondered why they couldn't just go all out and consider themselves in a proper relationship – honestly, Balthier was a very handsome (but horny as hell) specimen of the male sex, and Harry had been more than willing to see whether their relationship of lust could've developed into something real and deep. Balthier had declined the offer of a proper relationship, saying something about sky pirates and freedom, and, though it had stung slightly, Harry hadn't let it get to him, and thus their on-and-off affair had started.

Harry screamed as he finally came, his entire body tightening and driving Balthier to his own undoing, causing the man to bite down harshly on Harry's shoulder to muffle his own sound of pleasure.

The black-haired male panted as he slowly descended from his pleasure high, the comforting weight of Balthier helping to keep him grounded. They had to get dressed and prepare to dock as soon as they could since they were reaching Bhujerba in a short while, and when Balthier rolled off of Harry, the green-eyed male sat up with a low groan, his hips and lower back throbbing deliciously.

"Get up you lazy bum," Harry poked Balthier's leg upon noticing that the other man was nearly asleep. "We'll be docking soon, and Fran will have your balls if you aren't there to help."

Brown eyes opened slowly and stared at Harry, then travelled up and down the green-eyed man's body, before a devious smirk spread across Balthier's face. "But I am up, pet." He drawled.

Harry blinked, then glared and a slight flush entered his cheeks. "Bloody perverted pirate!" he growled and got out of bed, got dressed and left the room all the while listening to Balthier's amused chuckle.

-x-x-x-x-

They had hooked up with the thief Vaan to get out of the royal castle in Rabanastre, and then – during their escape from the Nalbina Dungeons – they had joined up with none other than the supposedly-dead Basch von Rosenburg. Afterwards their party had simply grown and grown, and they suddenly found themselves travelling all over Ivalice in an attempt to defeat the Empire and aid princess Ashe in getting back her throne.

And since there was so many of them, they had to constantly go after various Marks in order to have enough money for food, weapons, healing, clothes, you name it.

'_Besides, Vaan seemed to love going on these hunts, the materialistic little twit.'_ Harry grumbled to himself as he watched the blond in question have the time of his life fighting against yet another Mark, the whatever-it-was-called. The green-eyed male had given up on keeping track of every single monster they went after.

The fight was long and hard, and by the end of it they were all sweaty and dusty and tired and bruised. Harry was leaning against a rock, waiting for the Cura that Fran had thrown in his direction to do its job and heal up his broken rib. Balthier stood beside him, grumbling something about stupid sky pirate wanna-be's and was trying in vain to remove the dust from his white shirt.

"Perhaps you _should_ take Vaan on as your apprentice," Harry panted slightly. "At least you would have a good reason to beat some common sense into the idiot."

"Believe me, pet, I am seriously considering it," Balthier replied in his usual drawling voice, sending Harry a rather tired smirk. Then the man got that lecherous look on his face that Harry had come to recognise over the years, and the green-eyed male shuddered as Balthier's eyes flashed. "You look delicious when you are flushed and panting after... exercise."

Harry's eyes grew wide and he flushed even more. He wasn't surprised that Balthier had said something like that in the middle of a group of people – heaven knew that the sky pirate was totally shameless! Rather it was _what_ he had said. In the years that Harry had been part of the crew and the odd on-and-off relationship the two of them had had, the green-eyed male had never – _never_! – heard Balthier say something like that to anyone, let alone himself.

The _Strahl_'s black-haired mechanic had just opened his mouth to ask whether or not the captain of said ship was suffering under some sort of status ailment caused by the beastie they had just killed, but his words never got the chance to utter anything seeing as Balthier brought their mouths together in a violent kiss that was all teeth, tongues and saliva and a helpless moan from Harry that made Balthier roughly pull the smaller male even closer.

The reactions of the others in the group were rather predictable.

Penelo and Ashe turned as red as Rogue Tomatoes, and turned away from the sight so fast that they almost lost their balance.

Basch seemed slightly flustered and uncomfortable, turning away with a minute frown on his face.

Vaan emitted a choked squeak, and seemed torn between watching in fascination or turning away as well.

Fran simply rolled her eyes. "Balthier, I know you enjoy the pleasures of the flesh, but this is not the time or the place."

"I apologise," Balthier replied with a smirk as he finally ended the kiss. "But sometimes I resist temptation so very poorly."

Harry, who was quite red and rather embarrassed, pushed away from Balthier and started stalking back towards the place where they had docked the _Strahl_.

'_Bloody__ shameless pirates.'_

-x-x-x-x-

Harry's teeth chattered in the cold, and he grumbled and tried to get closer to one of the two small bonfires they had managed to get going. They were in the middle of freakin' nowhere, surrounded by snow and ice and more snow on all sides. And enemies. Thoroughly annoying enemies that blended into the snow and ice. Harry wanted to hurt someone.

'_Vayne is so going to get it when I get my hands on him. It's time the bastard learned just how dangerous annoyed wizards can be.'_ The green-eyed male nodded resolutely to himself. _'And Asche. She needs a good talking to, she does. A spanking, perhaps? Lovingly provided by her ever-devoted hero Basch...'_

Harry blinked at his own thoughts.

Then he shuddered and for once it had nothing to do with the cold.

'_EEEWWWW!! My poor brain!'_ he whined to himself and once again moved closer to the mini-fire – that was in serious danger of burning out. Harry poked at it with a frozen stick, but it didn't do much and he cursed lowly. Over by the second bonfire – which was faring better than Harry's – sat Asche, Larsa, Basch and Penelo, all four looking very serious (or cold) and listening closely to the conversation between Asche and Larsa.

"I want that fire." Harry chattered.

Vaan nodded from his place opposite Harry, and stared longingly at the other group's fire. "Whose idea was this anyway?" he grumbled.

"Larsa's." Harry replied. "And then Asche had to go and agree with the kid. And it wouldn't have made much difference if it hadn't been for the fact that you joined them in this crazy endeavour upon the first mention of Hunts and Marks in the Paramina Rift."

The shivering desert thief managed a weak laugh and rubbed the back of his head upon seeing the glare Harry sent his way. "Ehehe... what can I say?"

The green-eyed mechanic pouted. "Well, at the very least we got the buy warmer clothes for this insane trek. Not that they are helping much." He poked the fire again, adding a quick Fira to heat things up again.

Fran and Balthier, who had been on guard duty, came back at that point and quickly headed towards the waiting bonfire. Upon reaching Harry and Vaan, Balthier promptly picked Harry up and sat down with the green-eyed male in his lap, pressing them as close as possible. For once Harry had absolutely no protest, and for once it seemed like Balthier had no lecherous motive, and the two of them simply sat like that, taking comfort in sharing heat.

Vaan clearing his throat somewhat uncomfortably, and stood up. "I... er, I'll just go get Basch and get on duty..." the Rabanastran muttered, a slight blush on his cold cheeks, and hurried over to the other campfire to get the older man.

Balthier smirked. "I do believe our little sky-pirate wanna-be is learning. I was expecting more of a reaction out of him."

Harry rolled his eyes, but didn't comment. He looked over at Fran, and the need to hurt someone or something came back when he saw the Viera look completely at ease in her thick clothes, seemingly not bothered at all by the cold that was plaguing the rest of them. One would expect Fran – who came from the insanely humid climate of the Golmore Jungle – to be more affected by the cold, but no. The Viera didn't even twitch while the rest of them were freezing their arses off.

"Bloody pirating bunny-rabbits." Harry grumbled and tried to get closer to Balthier to soak up more heat.

Fran sent the _Strahl_'s mechanic a mild glare.

Balthier snickered.

-x-x-x-x-

The Phon Coast wasn't only wonderfully warm and Caribbean-like, it was also the perfect time for a longer break (there was no way anyone was going to be able to drag Vaan away from the Hunter's Camp anytime soon) and a much-needed bath.

Harry was practically purring as he took a long bath in one of the azure-watered pools and inlets that dotted the coast-line. There were no beasties around to ruin the day, and everyone else had already taken their baths so he wouldn't be all that missed. Besides, both Fran and Balthier knew that the green-eyed mechanic loved to take as long baths as possible when given the chance, and could inform the others of this fact if need be.

'_I'm gonna demand a vacation here on the Phon Coast after this nasty business with Vayne is done.'_ Harry decided with a happy sigh. Honestly, there seemed to be nothing better than relaxing in the warm azure waters, white sand trickling through his toes, a Piranha snapping its overgrown jaws after his head...

Harry yelped and barely managed to avoid the flying fish-thingy. "I thought the damn hunters at the Camp said that this place was safe!" he growled to himself, preparing a quick spell to take down the Piranha. He needn't have bothered. There came a shot, and the Piranha dropped like a stone and kicked the infamous proverbial bucket, and Harry automatically grabbed the Water Magicite that the beast left behind, and then looked up at his savour.

"Nasty little critters, aren't they?" Balthier mused with a devilish grin on his face, the gun Arcturus resting on one shoulder.

Harry waded out of the pool – not caring all that much about being naked – and headed to his clothes, placing the Water Magicite in a pouch. He then pulled on his pants before turning back to the sky-pirate captain. "Although I appreciate the help, I can't help but wonder what you are doing here, Balthier."

"Vaan has gotten it into his head that he's going to join this silly little Hunt Club they've got going here, and we need your help in dissuading him from such an endeavour. Or at least postpone it until we do what leading men do, and save the world." The russet-haired man smirked and stepped closer. "Though..."

"Though what?" Harry stepped back slightly. Balthier had that lecherous look on his face again, the look which promised strenuous (but pleasurable) activities that would, most definitely, make them late in order to help the others keep Vaan's little Hunting fixation in check.

"The little desert thief would learn a lesson if he went through with this endeavour and it didn't work out." The pirate-captain muttered, stepping towards his green-eyed mechanic.

"No! No, he wouldn't!" Harry insisted, grabbed his shirt and haphazardly threw it on in an attempt to remove temptation.

"And the materialistic little churl _is_ old enough to make decisions for himself..."

"You really need to stop this! Fran'll have your guts for garters!" he backpedalled even more.

"Fran is the one who suggested that I come and get you."

"We need to continue with this business of saving Ivalice!"

"It can wait for a few hours."

"Don't even think it, Balth-!"

However, neither the protests nor the backtracking seemed to work, and Harry yelped as he was pulled into Balthier's arms and then all sounds came in the form of moans and mewls and whimpers and pants – all of which were heard by a pack of Silver Lobos and a confused Mandragora.

'_First he says that he doesn't want a real, steady relationship, but lately he has been acting like a possessive, jealous boyfriend._' Harry vaguely thought as he lay on the ground, still shuddering from his recent orgasm. A hand was buried in Balthier's short hair, and the silver-tongued sky-pirate captain was eagerly sucking on Harry's neck, leaving a very visible and obvious hickey.

Harry felt as though everything was changing. They were pirates and thieves and supposedly-dead people trying to save Ivalice – along with the help of the young Larsa Solidor, the main bad-guy's little brother. It was difficult enough to keep track of all of that without Balthier having to go and changing the rules of their mutual agreement as well. The green-eyed male had absolutely no idea of what to expect next.

"I cannot have you distracted from the leading man at a time like this, my dear Harry," Balthier murmured into his ear, and proceeded to suck on the special little spot behind said ear that he knew drove the _Strahl_'s mechanic crazy.

'_I suppose I shall simply have to take one step at the time,'_ Harry mused with a fond smile, and allowed himself to be pulled into another breath-stealing kiss. _'Bloody confusing, darling sky pirate.'_

-x-x-x-x-

Well, that is that. Please tell me what you think.

This isn't beta-ed since my beta doesn't like slash, so please excuse the mistakes.

I realise that every paragraph in this one-shot seems to end with some form of "bloody pirates", and a friend of mine said that it became too repetitive. However, personally I think it fitting.

Hum, I still feel as though there are some things missing from this one-shot for it to be 'complete', but that may be because I haven't played the game completely through yet. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this!

Thanks to:

Adnexus, Honor, Estheriana, Firehedgehog, lildevil425, yumeniai, Morrolan, Fate and ladylookslikeadude.


	6. HP & Pitch Black 'slash'

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and the makers of the Riddick-series.

**Author's Note: **I apologise greatly for the delay in posting in, well, everything, but I am currently on vacation and have shockingly little time to write. Therefore I thought to appease you people with an old thing I once started, and which will never be finished. So please enjoy and don't kill the writer for being insanely late with updating.

**Crossover:** Harry Potter & The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black.

**Pairing:** Riddick/Harry

**Warnings:** Some AU in the HP-verse during the 6th and 7th books and, by extent, a bit of AU in the Pitch Black movie.

**Rating:** T

This is not beta-ed seeing as my beta isn't fond of slash.

**One-shot #**** 6: Sleeping Sun**

**Part One:**

_Harry stared at the crumbling stone arch, almost hypnotized by the fluttering veil and the whispers coming from it. Then he resolutely shook his head and ignored it to the best of his abilities, turning his full attention to Luna Lovegood._

"_So, what does this DD1-prject of yours got to do with the Arch?" Hermione asked the Ravenclaw. The two women had reached a sort of truce – agreeing that they would rarely agree on anything – and had become rather good friends over the past years._

"_We have recently discovered that this Arch is, in fact, a gateway to travel to different dimensions," Luna replied in a surprisingly non-dreamy tone. "We plot in the coordinates and voila! it opens to a new dimension. It's rather simple, actually. So simple that even the muggles are working on something similar, a secret project of theirs called Stargate, I'm sure you've heard of it, it's been all over the muggle and wizarding news lately."_

"_Of course. Hard to miss a newsflash like that." Harry said._

"_Huh?" Ron's confusion was clear. "When did this news appear?"_

"_If you ever read anything other than the sports pages, then you'd know." Hermione grumbled._

_Harry nodded. "But I still don't understand exactly what the three of us are doing here. You said that you could send us away from all the publicity and craziness of our current lives, and I assume that the Arch has something to do with that?"_

_Luna nodded. "Correct, Harry. Now that we know that it's safe for people to travel through the Arch, the Minister has decided to start sending exploration-teams out. Shacklebolt and I have pulled in some favours – not that we needed many with you being whom you are – and have managed to get you three clearing to go through the door and start exploring dimensions. This is, of course, all very secret and hush-hush, and you would have to take a few oaths and such never to talk to anyone not in the know about it, but it will keep you out of the public eye for as long as is needed until this whole hype dies down." _

"_Are you serious?!" Hermione practically squealed happily._

"_Perfectly serious. So, what do you say?"_

"_Of course we'll do it!" the bushy-haired girl replied before Harry or Ron could open their mouths. "All that we can discover! All that knowledge waiting to be found! Oh, Harry, Ron, lets go at once!"_

"_Easy there!" Harry tried to calm the almost-hyper woman down. "We need to get lots of affairs in order if we are to do this, and we need to alert our friends and family to our departure so that they don't get panic – and of course we won't mention anything about the specifics of it all, Luna, but certain people deserve to know at least that we are leaving."_

"_I simply can't wait!" Hermione was almost bouncing. "You must excuse me, I need to go research all of this. Dimensional theory, the muggle Stargate-project, travelling through space and time…" she trailed off as she practically ran out of the room, already heading for the closest library._

_The former Ravenclaw raised an amused eyebrow. "I guess this is a really good opportunity for her to focus her energy into new research. I haven't seen her like this since before the war."_

"_This is exactly what she needs." Ron smiled._

_Harry nodded. "The war hit her hard. It hit all of us hard. It's time for the survivors to start really living again, I think."_

"_Either way, I thank you profoundly for giving both us this chance, Luna." The tall redhead was grinning by now._

"_Anytime, you two; and may I be the first person to welcome you to the Dimension-Door-project, stage one."_

-x-x-x-x-

Harry sighed as he was once again dragged bodily from place to place by a very curious and hyper Hermione Granger. He swore that his shoulder would end up dislocated if this kept up, and quite frankly, he didn't like the possibility that he would have to pop it back into place. However, he held his peace and let the bushy-haired woman do what she wanted. Said peace lasted merely for another five minutes, before Harry couldn't take it anymore and dug his heels into the ground. The dragging stopped – thank god! – and Hermione let go of his arm, allowing him to massage some feeling back into it.

"Hermione, I love you, I really do, and as a friend you're invaluable, but please stop dragging me around like a child." He said to her, though not unkindly.

"But Harry," Hermione counted. "This is a very important mission! We have to get as much information about this dimension as possible before we return to our own! It's a Ministry-issued mission! And we were lucky that they allowed three civilians like us to join this project; why, if it hadn't been for Luna and Shacklebolt pulling some strings we would still be sitting back in the wizarding world, twiddling our thumbs and being chased by journalists, reporters, interviewers, fans, and gods know what else!"

"I know that, Hermione, but we've been on this project for the past six years and they haven't kicked us out yet, and that says something. We're the best team they've got, and they know it! Besides, we checked in with the mother dimension just last week, and now have ten months before we have to check in again. Which means that there is no need to hurry." The twenty-four-year-old man told his companion. "No need to rush at all!"

"Yes there is!" she insisted. "I've booked us on a spaceship on its way to the Tangier System, and it leaves this afternoon."

"And we are going to one of the planets in said system," Harry assumed.

"Not quite right. The ship's supposed to make a pit stop on the planet Helion Prime, in the city of New Mecca, and _that's_ where we're getting off. I'm dying to know exactly how the religions of Christianity and Islam managed to end up as one, as Chrislam. And what better place to find out than the capital city of said religion? Besides, Helion Prime is far away from our current location, and it will take us nearly eight months in space to get there, so we need to leave as soon as possible. Oh! And Ron said he'd meet us in New Mecca as well. Apparently his newly-acquired spaceship needs some minor adjustments."

"I told Ron that becoming a merc wasn't healthy – for him or for his ship." The green-eyed male shook his head fondly, and smiled slightly. "So, when exactly does our ship leave, and what's the name and the dock? I want to go scope it out before we leave."

"You're far too paranoid, Harry. Not everything is a conspiracy, you know. You and Ron are almost turning into Mad-Eye Moody! What happened to simply going to a library to find out what you need?"

"The name, the time and the dock of the ship, please, Hermione." Came the non-relenting reply. "And while you're at it, my ticket as well. If anyone asks, I want to have a valid reason to be there."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but handed the ticket over. "The ship's called the Hunter-Gratzner, it's a passenger-freighter. It may not be the most comfortable way to travel, but we need to save as much money as possible until we can check in with the mother dimension again, or until Ron can bring in another criminal and another pay check. These tickets cost enough as it is!"

"And the dock?"

"Five. Dock Five. We leave at 1800 hours, so we need to get moving. There are still some things I want to check out in the library close to the docks, mostly concerning the ship itself, the route it will take and its history of crew and cargo, and that will take time. We also need to buy some of that space-travel food and water."

"I suppose you want me to check that out while you're in the library?"

"Please, and could you please come get me at the library once it gets close to departure time? You know how I get amongst books."

"Of course I know, your obsession with books is legendary after all. And you know that I'll pick you up no matter what." Harry smiled at her. "Now get going to that library before all that knowledge escapes your grubby little hands. Get!" he gave her a slight push down the street.

"Excuse me?! Grubby little _what_?!" Hermione mock-glared at him, and stuck her nose into the air. "See if I talk to you again, snake-man!" she headed off down the street, making a rather comical sight.

The green-eyed young man simply chuckled. "I'll see you later Hermione!" he called after her and started heading towards the docks. As he walked he had to wonder to himself how the hell the Boy-Who-Lived and his two best friends ended up in a different dimension, on assignment for the Ministry of Magic.

'_I suppose that it started with the discover of just what the veiled Arch in the Department of Mysteries really was.' _He mused to himself. _'Or it may have started with the death of Voldemort.'_

Yes, the Dark Lord was long gone. Actually, it had only been seven years since the man's defeat, but it felt like a lifetime. It had been surprisingly easy – now that he looked back at it – to find the rest of the horcruxes and destroy them. The uber-wand et all just kind of fell into place on their own due to Dumbledore, so that couldn't really be counted as the trio's work.

'_This only proves the fact that anything can be destroyed as long as one really puts one's mind to it.'_

And once the damn horcruxes were gone the battle against the Dark Lord himself had gone surprisingly easy. Of course, people still died, and many good wizards and witches had been lost – amongst them Tonks, Mad-Eye, Remus and countless others – but in the end they had won, and there would be peace in the wizarding world again until another person got it into their heads to rule the world. It was a never-ending cycle, and Harry had understood that early on, he simply prayed that the next battle wouldn't be his, that he would be dead, buried and turned to dust before that ever happened.

The British wizarding world had done remarkably well in pulling itself together, and with ample help from other countries it hadn't taken more than sixth months before almost all of the property damage had been taken care of. Rufus Scrimgeour had come through in the end, and had been re-elected twice already, proving himself to be a very good and wise Minister for Magic. Most people simply seemed to wish to forget about the entire war, and had turned their attention to other things – one of which, unfortunately, was their savour Harry Potter. Since the last battle Harry hadn't had a single moment's peace of mind what with constantly being chased by fans, admirers, people who wanted to interview him, take pictures, try to make friends with him, have his autograph, murder him for killing the Dark Lord, the list went ever on. Hermione, the Weasleys and the other war-heroes didn't fare much better. So when Luna Lovegood, of all people, had invited Harry, Ron and Hermione to join the top-secret project DD1 – tempting them with the promise of no more annoying fans and paparazzi – they had eagerly accepted.

The DD1-project had given them a chance to escape the madness of their lives, to not have to be reminded al the time by well-wishing letters of exactly whom they had lost in the war, and thus found the trio being one of the first teams to travel to a different dimension. In the past years the they had explored several worlds, and so far hadn't had any major trouble, and the races they had encountered had been ranging from friendly, to wary, to indifferent, but never outright hostile.

'_And what's even better, Hermione and Ron seem to be getting some of that old spark for life back in their eyes. I can almost swear that I've walked in on several snogging feasts – at the very least, both their clothes seemed far too rumbled for a game of Exploding Snap. Yes, this project is some of the best thing that could have happened to us all.' _Harry concluded his inner musings as he finally reached dock five and the Hunter-Gratzner.

The ship was shaped like a long tube, and didn't look too shabby. As Harry approached it several compartments – most likely full of cargo – were being connected to the main hull of the ship. The deep-space drives that were going to do most of the work once the ship got on route, would be added last. The name of the ship was proudly written in white on the front of the main hull, and underneath it was the name of the corporation that owned the ship.

"Can I 'elp you with anythin'?" A man with greying hair and beard, and approximately in his fifties, stepped up to Harry.

"Just wanted to see the ship I'll be travelling with in a few hours." The green-eyed man replied smoothly.

"Ah, a passenger, ey? The name's Tom Mitchell, and I'm the cap'n of this 'ere fine ship." He shook Harry's hand. "Nice te meetcha, lass!"

"… likewise." Harry had to keep himself from punching the man. Just because Harry wore his black hair in a braid that almost reached to his knees and wasn't built like a freaking body-builder (seemingly the favoured body-shape of most males in this dimension), and everyone assumed that he was a woman. However, despite this annoyingly-frequent conversation-opener, Harry and the captain stood talking for a good while longer before a cryo-locker was wheeled past the two of them, apparently already with someone inside, making Harry shudder for some strange reason. There was something – _someone_ – dangerous in that cryo-locker. "Would you mind terribly if I asked who that was?"

Captain Mitchell watched as the locker was loaded into the ship, before he turned back to Harry. "Jus' a no-good prisoner bein' transported, ain't nothin' te worry 'bout, lass. Everyone sleeps during cryo-lock, ain't no way the prisoner coul' get out. And 'ere is someone who can gives you more assurances. Johns! Over 'ere, man!"

A blond man around thirty years of age, ceased his watching of the loading of the cryo-locker, and headed towards them. He was wearing a white shirt, with a Kevlar, bullet-proof vest over it. The official badge of a marshall was proudly displayed on his chest. He was carrying a big gun slung around his shoulder, had another equally as big attached to his right thigh, and a large knife attached on his other side along with a baton. Several other weapons were most likely hidden away on his body as well.

'_A merc just like Ron. Hunts down convicts and escaped prisoners for pay. For him to have reached marshall-status he must have brought in all of his assignments, which means that he is really good. And that, in turn, indicates that the cryo-locker that just passed contains a very dangerous criminal.' _Harry thought to himself. _'I have a really bad feeling about this trip for some strange reason.'_

"Mitchell," the blond man nodded once he had reached the other two.

"Johns, this 'ere lady seems te feel anxious 'bout that there prisoner an' needs some calmin'," the captain said pointedly ignoring Harry's wide eyes and angry sputters. "Do an ol' man a favour, an' calm the missy down, aye? You might e'en end up gettin' some afore we depart." The man winked to Johns and to Harry and then walked off to supervise the last checkups of his ship that were to take place before the passengers were allowed on board.

Harry was left standing there looking torn between total and utter indignation, and the want to kill Captain Mitchell with his own bare hands. _'Maybe I could relieve this Johns-character of that large fancy knife. If I throw it at this distance I'm sure to hit the old pervert!'_

Johns, on the other hand, shook his head and rolled his eyes, before turning to the other person with him, and checked them out. The insanely long, braided black hair was the first to catch his attention, followed by impossibly green eyes that were shooting sparks at the departing Mitchell. The 'lady' was slim, with a body built for speed rather than strength, and was, in fact, not a lady at all, but a young man. How Mitchell had made such a mistake, Johns wouldn't ever need or want to know. Instead he focused on answering any questions the young man might have.

"I'm sorry. About the old man, that is. I believe he's one of the mechanics aboard the Hunter-Gratzner, harmless really." The blond sighed and stuck out a hand. "William J. Johns."

"Harry Potter," Harry replied and they shook hands. "Mitchell told me he was the captain of the ship."

"Perhaps, but unlikely. I just came from the docking office, and the captain of the Gratzner hadn't signed in yet as far as they knew."

"Maybe he got past them? Or forgot?"

"Maybe." Johns agreed. "Now, the old-timer said you were worried about the prisoner that was just taken aboard. I can assure you that he ain't gettin' out of there. Tripple-max security cryo-locker. Only way he's gettin' out is if someone lets him out, or the power's cut off, and even then he's got chains on hands and feet, and a bit to work through. As said, ain't nothin' to worry about."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the surprising lack of confidence in the man's tone; oh, it was well-disguised, but it was still there. Johns was afraid of the prisoner. And a triple-max security cryo-locker? Now that really did confirm that the person inside said locker was one of the more dangerous and smarter convicts around. "And you find it wise to transport such a person with civilians?"

Johns shrugged. "Unless we crash there is little chance of something going wrong."

"Lets hope you didn't jinx us right now."

-x-x-x-x-

Picking up Hermione and dragging her from the library was harder said than done. Even when the woman knew they were in a hurry the books and papers strewn around her took precedence, but in the end Harry managed to get her to dock five in time. They showed off their tickets to a blonde woman, were led into the cryo-locker-cabin by a friendly man who introduced himself as Owens, and were then pointed to their personal cryo-chambers.

Harry observed the other passengers. Women, men, children, tall, short, fat, thin, dark-skinned, white as snow, you name it. Every sort seemed to have found their way to the Gratzner. There was a mulatto man dressed in Arabic garb and followed by three young boys, that excused himself politely for bumping slightly into Hermione. There was a middle-aged, almost-balding, nervous sort of man, a pair of glasses perched on his nose, who didn't quite seem to know what to do or where to go. A dark-tanned couple passed Harry as well, nodding politely to the green-eyed man. They were followed by a young boy in faded clothes, who couldn't be more than thirteen at most. The teen took the locker next to Harry's, and looked up at the older man.

Harry stared back, and raised an amused eyebrow.

"Your eyes are so green, like snake-eyes. So cool." The boy muttered, the voice having a certain feminine lilt to it, for lack of better word. Or it could be that the teen hadn't gone through the embarrassing voice-change yet.

"Thank you." Harry replied and stuck out a hand. "I'm Harry."

"Jack." The boy replied with a grin.

The rest of the passengers quickly got on, and the captain's voice echoed throughout the entire ship, ordering everyone who wasn't crew or passenger to get the hell out, and for said passengers to get their buts into their cryo-lockers and prepare for a long deep, sleep. Because of the completely metallic-sounding voice on the speakers Harry couldn't figure out if it was a man or a woman speaking, and couldn't confirm whether or not Mitchell really was the captain of the ship, or that there was someone else – as Johns had thought.

Harry first made sure that young Jack was snug within his cryo-locker, before entering his own. Harry leaned back against the cushioned back wall, and secured the straps and belts. Right across from him he could see Hermione doing the same in another cryo-locker, and when she looked up from her work she waved at him and gave him the thumbs-up sign that all was well. A little further down the small corridor Harry could barely make out the cryo-locker with the prisoner inside, and Johns making a quick last-minute check.

He closed his eyes and retreated to a meditative state. _'This is going to be a long voyage.'_

* * *

**Part Two:**

___Ron and Hermione approached their best friend sitting on one of the beds in Hogwarts' hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was there as well, looking torn between sympathy for the green-eyed teen, and giddiness for some strange reason. The woman clearly didn't know whether to bounce around the room, or to give her condolences. Harry just looked slightly annoyed._

_"__So, what's the verdict, mate?" Ron asked. "Did you find out what all those weird things were?"_

_"__We did indeed, Mister Weasley," Madam Pomfrey had obviously settled for giddiness, and was eagerly writing something on her clipboard, occasionally sending looks towards the seated Harry. "And it was not, as first suspected, remnants of You-Know-Who's soul."_

_"__What was it, then?" Hermione inquired. "Why did Harry suddenly get slit pupils? How about his sudden ability to seek out heat-sources in near pitch darkness, amazingly avoiding to bump into things? And the slight growth of his canine teeth? Was he bitten by a vampire while he was a sleep? Or perhaps a werewolf?"_

_"__Please calm down, 'Mione, and let the woman answer your questions!" Ron clamped a hand over the girl's mouth.  
_

_"__I believe I would've known if I was bitten by either of those two," Harry pointed out as well._

___Madam Pomfrey simply smiled at the interaction. "For once, Miss Granger, you are remarkably way off the mark, as one would say. It is none of those; in fact, this is something completely new, and I don't think it has ever happened before in recorded history! It's a completely new discovery that opens possibilities-!"_

_"__Madam Pomfrey, please tell us what's wrong with my best mate." Ron pleaded when it seemed like the matron was ready to give them a lecture._

_"__Oh, well, right. I apologise." She cleared her throat in embarrassment. This was the first chance she had had since the war to do something productive, and it was easy for her to go off on tangent. "Simply put, Mr Weasley, your friend here has gained the attributes of a snake. This is due to the basilisk venom in his body, from that hair-rising adventure of yours a few years back. The phoenix tears that healed the wound and saved Mr Potter's life, also acted as a counterweight to the basilisk venom, and the two components have been trying to gain the upper hand – for lack of better term – for the past five years or so. In the end, Mr Potter's body and magic accepted the two foreign substances, and forced them to work together, giving young Mr Potter slight animal-like attributes."_

_"__But as there were phoenix tears involved as well, I assume that the basilisk venom was more potent?" Hermione said._

_"__Correct, but I believe this has something to do with Mr Potter's ability to speak parseltongue. Either way, it is nothing much to worry about, it won't affect your life all that much. You will not get the dangerous eyes of a basilisk, nor will you turn into a snake – unless you choose to become an animagus, Mr Potter – but do not be surprised if you suddenly find that those nice fangs of yours can produce a weak venom. Or if you suddenly find yourself eyeing a frog or a mouse, and thinking it a delightful meal."_

_"__I'll just think of it as an animagus form of sort," Harry muttered. "Much easier to get my mind around."_

_"__And will the phoenix tears give him any new cool powers?" Ron asked._

_"__Since the basilisk venom is the dominant factor here, the tears simply work as a counterbalance to it," Madam Pomfrey replied. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if Mr Potter suddenly gained a wonderful singing voice."_

_"__Excellent mate, you can become one of those muggle opera-singers or something!" the redhead grinned, and clapped the dark-haired teen on the back as they headed for the exit, and Hermione giggled at Harry's disgruntled look._

_"__One more thing, Mr Potter," the nurse called after them. "Since you are my most frequent and favourite patient, I'll give you a warning. As I already said, this is a completely new phenomenon, and I would keep it to myself if I were you. Savour of the wizarding world or not, Mr Potter, you might just end up as a lab rat if word gets out of your unique condition."_

___It was an ominous warning, but very true, and Harry, Ron and Hermione never told anyone about it._

-x-x-x-x-

Due to this unique situation, Harry had quickly learned the cryo-sleep didn't work well with him. Unlike other normal people, he simply entered a sort of meditative state for the duration of the voyage; sometimes he would slip into a deeper meditation, almost a sleep of sorts, and stay there for a long time, but he would always return to the light meditative stage he started with, and he always remained aware of what was going on with the rest of the ship. He, Ron and Hermione had read up on cryo-lockers and cryo-sleep in order to see if it couldn't be fixed – it was boring being aware of every single minute of long journeys without being able to talk to someone – and hadn't found one single thing. There hadn't ever been any recorded cases such as Harry's, and therefore there was no information about it.

"It says here that most of one's brain shuts down in cryo-sleep," Hermione had muttered, pointing to a page. "But if it did that, then the rest of the body functions would shut down as well, resulting in death. Which means that there is some small part of the brain that doesn't shut down. Now, seeing as most of the body functions run on automatic and instincts, it means that that this part of the brain is the one that remains awake. If I remember correctly from my discussions with Professor McGonagall, this is also the part where a wizard's animagus animal-form stems from."

"And this means that the primal animal-side of me is keeping me awake?"

"Correct."

"But everyone has a primal side, so why aren't everyone awake?" Ron wondered.

"Because Harry's more in tune with his due to the basilisk venom and phoenix tears in his blood. You've made peace with your animal-side, you've accepted it for what it is, and you make frequent use of it; you don't ignore it like most humans do. If I or Ron were animagi we would probably stay awake as well."

Harry had sighed, and since then had decided that he really, really hated to travel in cryo-lockers. He knew that for the first week after departure that the crew of the ship would be awake in order to get them en route, and he could've amused himself by listening to their conversations, but the cryo-locker rarely let in any noise. So he had to find other methods to amuse himself with. He tried singing to himself, but one could only take so many renditions of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall before one went stir crazy.

Once, during a cryo-sleep-meditation-whatever, he had discovered an ability to connect his minds with the other passengers. He could attach himself to the thoughts of one person – but only during cryo-sleep – and get to know everything about them, all they dreamed during cryo-sleep, all their experiences, all their memories. He didn't know if this was due to the phoenix tears or the basilisk blood, but he felt somewhat grateful for it; it kept him amused between the deep sleep-like meditations he slipped into, and he had quickly gotten past his guilt for intruding into other peoples privacy.

So, about three weeks into the voyage, when the crew of the Hunter-Gratzner finally went into cryo-sleep as well, Harry started his exploration. He first checked up on Hermione, sending warm thoughts and feelings into her – she had often complained about the vast darkness and coldness she experienced while in cryo-sleep – and felt her consciousness give him a grateful nudge in return, before she fell into deep sleep again. Then he checked up on young Jack, only to raise a mental eyebrow in surprise. The young boy was, in fact, a girl. A girl that had run away from her orphanage as soon as she had gotten enough money to buy a ticket. Harry felt a sort of déjà vu then, seeing something of himself in the girl. Both were often mistaken for being of the opposite sex, both had a hard start in life, both were survivors. He couldn't help the brotherly feelings welling up in him, and sent Jack gentle thoughts and feelings of warmth as well.

Most of the other passengers didn't prove to be very interesting, simply people who were travelling somewhere. Some wanted a new start in life, some were visiting relatives, some relocated because of their job, some were thieves, others came from an equally shady side of life, a few thought themselves to be Indiana-Jones-style explorers, there was much variety. But there were also a few interesting cases. Harry got it confirmed that Tom Mitchell really was the captain of the Gratzner. The docking pilot, Carolyn Fry, was considering to quit her job due to dislike of cryo-sleep. There was an entrepreneur, i.e. an antiquities dealer, who dreamed of going to France on Earth. Harry found it very informative to pick the brains of the Arabic-dressed man that had apologised to Hermione for bumping into her, learning a new language was always fun, and he hadn't had the chance to learn Arabian before. The three children travelling with him were all the sons of some sheik, and the four of them were on pilgrimage to New Mecca.

The dark-tanned couple that had passed Harry on their way to their cryo-lockers, weren't married, but they were in a relationship. The woman was the daughter of some rich Australian industrialist, and had shunned said father and his money in order to roam the universe as a free-settler with her aboriginal lover. That happening had really been a complete and utter scandal according to their memories, but Harry couldn't help but find it all very amusing, and silently congratulated the two for breaking the rules and norms, and doing what they wanted, before he moved on to the next person.

Johns was not a pleasant mind to go through, and Harry found himself shocked to know that the man had killed two children in order to capture the prisoner he was currently guarding. After this piece of information, Harry quickly retreated from the man's mind, and kept to himself for a week or two of deep, sleep-like meditation. He had meant it to bee a week or two, but in the end he was sure that more than six weeks had passed, meaning that they had been in space for about eighteen weeks, if his inner clock was right.

_'Well, bloody hell. We're still not there and I've already gone through most peoples brains. Suppose I could go back to the Arab, and learn more of his language, but…'_ Harry sighed mentally. _'How utterly boring.'_

Green eyes opened for the first time in what seemed like ages, and Harry looked out of his cryo-locker, the little light above him giving him enough illumination to work with. Across from him Hermione seemed to be perfectly fine, the lockers beside her filled up with the three-man crew of the Hunter-Gratzner. Red light out of the corner of his eye brought Harry's attention to the cryo-locker carrying the prisoner, Richard B. Riddick, if the information he got from his very brief picking of Johns' brain was correct.

_'I wonder what picking a convict's brain might be like…' _Harry mused, his attention fully focused on the figure of a man he could vaguely see in the other locker. He fought with himself a while longer, then decided to go for it. _'I have seen death before, and I have even killed before. I can stomach whatever's inside the guy's head.'_

Harry slipped back into the meditative state – he had to be in such a state to read peoples thoughts, and people had to be in cryo-sleep for it to work. He, Ron and Hermione had experimented with it, and that was the simple conclusion of it all, which Harry found rather weird. Then again, he wasn't a trained legilimens at all, and his occlumency shields couldn't keep a baby out, and Hermione had theorized that people needed to be in such a relaxed state to be receptive for Harry's non-professional intrusion, or something similar.

_'Either way, here we go.' _Harry carefully started to get closer to the convict's unprotected mind, careful not to probe too deep too soon. Almost like a mother's gentle caress he came closer and closer to the other's surface-thoughts. Vague flashes of Riddick's most recent fight with Johns went through his brain, and Harry was about to go in deeper, when something completely unexpected happened.

Harry found himself latched onto by mental hands in a strong grip, caught by the very person whose brain he was trying to pick. Quickly realising that Riddick wasn't as asleep as he had first thought, Harry beat a hasty retreat with a powerful mental push, trying to minimize the damage. Such a sudden retreat would give Riddick a headache and a half, but Harry didn't care at the moment. Never had he met someone who could capture him like that; never had he met another person who stayed awake during cryo-sleep. Unfortunately some of his own memories had slipped through despite the quick retreat, and Harry could only hope that his and Riddick's paths would never cross again, because the convict hadn't given off a very happy feeling right then.

"Bloody hell." Harry muttered to himself, panting as if he had just ran the marathon. His eyes focused on Riddick's cryo-locker, and he could almost swear that the other man was gazing right at him despite the blindfold. _'Right. I've learned my lesson. No more brain-picking on this voyage. From now on I'll stick to the good old classics. 99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer! You take one down, and pass it around! 98 bottles of beer on the wall!'_

-x-x-x-x-

The next time Harry came out of his deep sleep-meditation wasn't due to his own devices, but rather something external. The alarms of the ship were going crazy, red light was flashing, the ship shaking, and Harry could see the cryo-lockers of the crew opening, spitting said crew out. Or, rather, two lockers opened, while the third stayed shut, the lights turned off. The female officer, Fry, and the nice Owens looked to be totally shocked for a second, before a violent lurch of the ship got them going again, and they disappeared out of Harry's range of sight.

_'Shit.'_ Harry thought to himself. He could feel the ship gaining speed, the hull heating up slightly. He knew that others of the passengers were coming out of cryo-sleep, could see Hermione's worried face across from him. _'You jinxed us, Johns. You fucking jinxed us!'_

All that the passengers in the cryo-lockers could do was to simply stare at whomever was across from them, and pray that everything went well. The alarms were finally turned off by one of the crew, but the danger was far from over. The shaking and the lurching of the ship became wilder and wilder, and Harry could practically feel the heat of the metal as they entered the atmosphere of some planet. Hermione's eyes were closed, her face scrunched up as she pushed her magic through the metal hull of the ship in an attempt to hold it together and give them all a better chance at surviving the landing, and Harry quickly did the same.

It felt like an eternity before the ship finally hit ground, the great impact sending everyone in their cryo-lockers crashing into walls. Some cryo-lockers were detached from their places, flying across the room and hitting other lockers. Sudden light filled the hold as the tail of the cabin was ripped away, screams could be heard along with the clinking and clanking of things hitting each other, and Harry closed his eyes, not wanting to see anymore. His cryo-locker was ripped away from its position and landed on the side, almost giving him a concussion.

The ship finally came to a full stop, and Harry slowly dared to open his eyes again. Another cryo-locker had fallen in front of his own, but he had enough room to open the door and squeeze out. He frantically pushed the emergency-release button, but it seemed to be completely broken. Therefore he manoeuvred around a bit in the tight space, and finally managed to put his booted feet against the door. He kicked again and again, until the glass-panel finally gave away and fell to the floor. Greedily gulping in fresh oxygen, Harry managed to shimmy his way out, and after putting himself together slightly, he looked around.

It was total chaos. Cryo-lockers had been thrown all around, along with whatever else that had been in the passenger-cabin. Wires and cables hung out of the walls or down from the ceiling, and support beams and pillars had been ripped away and were all over the place. The back of the passenger-cabin had been ripped off, yellow dust rising thickly, but enough light came in to see by. Ghostly figures were walking all around the wreckage, coughing, calling, searching for other survivors, and to his great relief Harry spotted Hermione helping someone out of a ruined cryo-locker.

Banging and muffled shouts caught the green-eyed man's attention, and he turned to the cryo-locker that had fallen beside his own. It was lying on its door, and he would have completely forgotten about it if someone inside hadn't woken up.

"Please!" came the vague shouts. "Let me out! Please!! Anybody!!"

_'Jack!' _Harry recognised the voice, and attempted to turn the heavy locker. He spotted the Arab some ways off and called to him. "Please help me turn this over! Someone's trapped inside!"

The man hurried over along with his three charges, and together they managed to turn the heavy thing. Harry found a piece of a pipe that would work perfectly as a crowbar, and, together with the mulatto man, popped open to the door of the locker. Jack sat up with a gasp, desperately trying to get air back into the lungs again, and Harry crutched down by the disguised girl, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You gonna be alright?"

Jack grabbed onto the hand on her shoulder, holding on for dear life until she had calmed down sufficiently enough to nod. "Y-yeah. 'm awright." When she finally seemed to be breathing somewhat normally again, she looked up at Harry. "Somethin' went wrong, huh?"

Harry simply helps the girl to her feet, and together with the four others they make their way towards where the other survivors seemed to have congregated. They were warmly welcomed by Hermione who gave everyone a hug, and were quickly introduced to the others. Harry remained polite despite the fact that he already knew who was who. Then Johns entered with Fry, and the introductions went around again.

"Has anybody seen Owens?" Fry finally asked, and people looked around wondering who Owens was. "Oh, gods!" the woman exclaimed and hurried off, quickly followed by the rest of the survivors. Jack took an involuntary step back into Harry once they finally found Owens, still trapped to his chair, and with a metal rod piercing his body, far too close to his heart. The three younger pilgrims didn't seem to be fairing much better, and gathered around their older leader. Hermione gasped, one hand clutching Harry's arm, the other covering her mouth. It really wasn't a pretty sight.

Fry slowly inched forwards and stretched out a hand, only to recoil it quickly in surprise when Owens started shouting: "Out, out, out, out! GET IT OUTTA ME!!"

"He's still alive!" Jack seemed horrified.

"You've gotta pull that thing outta him." Zeke said to Fry, indicating the metal rod.

"No, it's too close to his heart." Shezza disagreed.

"Just do it fast," Paris insisted.

Harry shook his head. "Not going to help. Owens will not survive anyway." The rest looked at him in a mix of horror and surprise, and he shrugged. Just because they didn't want to accept the reality of the situation, didn't mean that no one else did. He was simply telling the truth, as brutal as it might be. It was another thing he had picked up over the years, the ability to cut straight to the truth and not try to fool himself with wish-thinking no matter how brutal the truth might be.

"Doncha got some drugs for the poor man?" Zeke demanded.

"Don't touch the handle! Don't you dare touch that handle, Fry!" Owens shouted, clearly delirious, not knowing where he was, who he was with, or what had happened.

"Alright! Alright!" Fry seemed on the verge of a breakdown where she kneeled beside her fallen comrade. "There's some Anestaphine in the med-lock at he back of the cabin. Someone please…"

Johns looked pointedly around the back of the cabin that was missing, then turned back to Fry. "Not anymore there ain't."

Harry shook his head, and firmly grabbed Jack's shoulder. "Lets get out of here. This is not something children should see."

"But-!" Jack tried to protest, but was firmly led out of there by Harry and Hermione, followed by Imam and his three charges. Slowly Zeke and Shezza followed as well, and finally Johns exited the navigational-bay. The latter of the group didn't let them stop to stare at the prisoner chained to a support beam in the wrecked cryo-locker cabin, but pushed them onwards and completely out of the ship.

The second Hermione set foot on the heated sands of the planet they had crashed on, she collapsed to her knees with a gasp. Shezza was quick to help her up again. "You alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." Hermione replied. "The sun, it's so strong, bit of a shock. Thank you."

"Good." The Australian woman nodded, but kept close just in case.

Hermione looked across the group to Harry, who nodded to her. He had felt the same thing upon stepping out of the wreck of the ship. This world was almost completely dead, not only because it seemed entirely composed of a never-ending desert, but also because it had absolutely no magic core at all. All worlds had one, it was what kept them alive, kept the plants growing, gave water, you name it; but here, in this world, there was almost nothing. It was so starved for magic, that the second Harry and Hermione stepped onto it, it started sucking the magic out of them. To keep from being sucked totally dry before they got off this planet – however long that might take – it would be totally imperative that neither Harry nor Hermione used any kind of magic, and that they closed off their magical channels as much as possible.

Gazing along the long, deep furrow that the ship had made upon impact, and trying to ignore Owens cries of pain, Harry sighed heavily. _'Things are just getting better and better.'_

* * *

**Part Three:**

_____Visiting the Weasleys after Fred's death, was weird. The other boys had done a good job of covering up for the losses, Charlie had taken a sabbatical from his dragon-taming days, and Bill and Fleur were there as well in order to help Mrs Weasley get back onto her feet again._

___"__A hero shouldn't be so careless with his looks, Harry, dear." The Weasley matriarch said well into the conversation. "Here, I'll cut that atrociously long hair right down into a charming hairstyle for you. And you need to eat more, dear heart. A hero shouldn't be so thin, you need to put muscle on those bones. People expect a hero to be broad-shouldered, well-muscled, person who commands others to follow him with his very presence! I do believe there is a potion that can help with that, or perhaps we can put in some shoulder-pads or something. What do you think, Harry?"_

___"__Thanks, Mrs Weasley, but I think I'll keep the braid for a while longer. I've grown attached to it." Harry replied politely. This wasn't the first time Molly Weasley had insisted for him to cut his hair. She did it every time they talked together. It as her way of coping with the things she had seen and done during the war, Harry supposed._

___"__As you wish dear. Did you know that Bill and Fleur are going to have a baby soon? It's wonderful! I'll be a grandmother finally!"_

___"__It may have been mentioned in passing," Hermione smiled. In fact it had been the only thing on Mrs Weasley's lips for the past week, but all of them were far too polite to point this out._

_____Harry loved the woman to bits, but sometimes she really could get a bit too obsessed with certain things. Oh, she didn't mean anything bad with all her nagging, it was simply her way of dealing, and Harry usually managed to handle her nagging with great patience and a smile. And the times that he found himself overwhelmed, one of the others would come to his rescue, most often Ron, and Molly Weasley would be distracted and placated enough in her worrying for a short while. However, once the woman started talking about grandchildren – like she was now – there was no stopping here, and they could only sit and hear her out._

___"__Whenever are you going to fall in love with a nice witch, Harry? There are many out there simply waiting for a hero to sweep them off their feet, and I would be more than happy to help with any children you might end up having." This was how the conversation would start, then came the not so subtle hinting. "Now that you have defeated the Dark Lord, it really is high time for you to find a good girl, Harry, dear, and the same goes of my little Ginny. Oh, there's a thought! What a handsome couple you two would make! You must do things properly, dear, and date her for a while – Ginny isn't dating anyone right now, so she could probably give you hints on what to do and not to do. You must buy the lucky girl an expensive engagement ring, dear. I'm not sure what other girls like, but my Ginny likes diamonds. Set up a nice, romantic dinner for two and propose to the girl – on one knee, remember that Harry. And then you can settle down somewhere your children can grow up safely – with Charlie, Bill, and Ronald gone to live their own lives, there's lots of room here at the Burrow, so you might as well settle down here!"_

_____Ron leaned over to Harry and whispered dryly into his ear, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here, Harry, dear, but I do believe mum is hinting for you to marry my little sister Ginny."_

_____The group had looked over to the corner where Ginny had been sitting all the time, pretending to read a small book – notably turned upside-down – and had seen the girl's face flush charmingly despite the obstructing book. Ginny had sent them a shy, demure look over the book, had promptly turned ten more shades of red, and had ducked behind said book again. But she hadn't done anything at all to stop her mother's rather embarrassing and not-at-all subtle tirade, in fact, she seemed to encourage it at every possible turn. _

_____It didn't take long before Hermione had figured out what was going on, and had proclaimed to the rest of them that Ginny was suffering from De Clerambault's syndrome, otherwise known erotomania. It was a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that another person, usually of a higher social status, is in love with them – and every look, every gesture, becomes some sort of imagined signal of love._

_____Mrs Weasley simply outright refused that her youngest child, her little lovely good girl, could ever suffer from such a muggle disease, and had since then stubbornly refused to believe anything anyone tried to tell her, utterly refusing to even check with a psychologist if it might be true. Needless to say that visits to the Burrow declined in number after this confrontation._

___-x-x-x-x-_

The terrain around them was stark and unforgiving, worse than anything Harry had encountered before – and that was not counting the way the planet leeched off of his magic. The ground was made of hard-packed dirt and small stones rather than soft sand. There were low hills breaking up the terrain, and to one direction there was a cluster of earthen spires. The worst thing about this world, though, seemed to be the two suns that were scorching down on them all – one sun was red, the other yellow.

"Well." Paris sighed, shielding his eyes. "Our own little slice of heaven."

"Does anyone know where we are?" Shezza asked in a sort of resigned tone, not really expecting a reply.

"I think I know," Hermione spoke up, turning everyone's attention to herself. "Before departure I went to the library to check up on the ship, the crew, the route we would be taking. If…" she licked her lips nervously. "If I am correct in my calculations, then we have ended up on a planet in the M-344/G system. We must've been off course for some strange reason, because the system is usually bypassed by deep-space travellers due to complex celestial dynamics."

"Do you know which planet?" Johns asked. "Maybe if we know exactly where we are, we could make a radio or somethin' and send out an SOS."

Hermione sighed. "Maybe PN-2 – that is, Planet Number Two. It seems to fit what little description there is of it. I also seem to remember skimming over a passage mentioning an expedition to this planet. Geologists I think it was, but I can't remember when this was supposed to be."

"That's more than any o' us have come up with," Zeke sighed. "Bloody hell."

"Those geologists you mentioned," Jack looked at the bushy-haired woman. "Could they still be here?"

It was Harry who replied. "Perhaps, or perhaps they moved on, but they are sure to have left some stuff behind somewhere. You can't bring with you a whole house when you leave a planet. How about we make a small scouting party? There's got to be some other survivors out there." He nodded towards the various pieces – both big and small – that had fallen off the ship, and now laid in its wake.

"No, better wait for the captain." Johns cut in. "She'll know what to do, she has the final word in this situation."

Harry raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't correct the man. These people would need something solid to hang on to, and Fry posing as the captain of the Hunter-Gratzner would do the job he supposed. He brought the long braid over his shoulder and un-braided it, then started to braid it again, making sure to gather all the hair that had escaped during the tumult of the crash. The others stared for a minute at the insanely long and thick rope of hair, but then shrugged it off again, to each their own.

The Arab man spoke up. "Which way to New Mecca? We must know the direction in order to pray."

Johns brought out his compass but it didn't work at all, the needle simply span all over the place. Hermione took it from him, and observed it for a while, before nodding to herself. "I am now sure that this is PN-2. The planet has no north or south pole unlike most other planets, which is why the compass won't work. I am sorry, Mr al-Walid, but I cannot help you find the direction to New Mecca."

"Please, call me Imam," the man sighed. "We shall simply have to pray in every direction then." With that he said something in Arabic to his three charges. The four of them climbed down from the top of the ship's hull where everyone was standing, walking a little ways off, placed themselves back to back, and started praying. In this way they rotated until every one of them had prayed in every single direction.

"Diplomatic solution," Paris muttered with a raised eyebrow.

Fry finally made her way onto the back of the ship, her hands still slightly soiled with blood despite her best efforts to clean it off. "Everyone alright?" she asked in a quiet tone.

"As well as can be expected," Harry replied from his place beside Jack.

"There was talk of a scouting party, but with this…" Shezza nodded towards the long scar left by the ship. "It's unlikely anyone else is alive."

"Is anyone else having trouble breathing?" Paris inquired.

"Like I just ran, or somethin'." Jack muttered.

"Feel one lung short. All of us." Shezza agreed. "Do you know why?" she had turned to Hermione, already establishing the other woman as a valuable know-it-all.

Hermione thought for a moment. "The atmosphere here is thinner and more pressurised than on most other planets, I think, which is why we're all having trouble breathing. It's just like when one climbs a really, really high mountain, like Mt Everest or K2. Above a certain lever the oxygen in the atmosphere will thin out, which can be potentially dangerous. If our brains can't get enough oxygen, they'll simply shut down and send us all into a coma. But with the way things are on this planet I think we will get used to it in mere hours."

"Well, do we have a solution for that?" Paris wondered. "I tend towards the asthmatic, and with all this dust…" he hinted, but was ignored for the moment.

"So what the bloody hell happened, anyways?" Zeke asked Fry.

"If what Hermione thinks is true about our location, then something really knocked us off-lane. Maybe a rogue comet, or maybe we'll never know." Fry replied.

"Well, I for one am thoroughly grateful. This beast wasn't made to land like this, but cripes, you rode it down!" Shezza turned to the rest of them. "Only reason we're alive is a'cuzza her."

There were several expressed thanks from the rest of the group, the four Chrislams having rejoined the group a minute or two earlier.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, thanks for savin' our dicks." Jack said and patted Fry's shoulder.

"No, really, thanks awfully." Paris tried to cover the rude language, and sent a dark look towards the teenager.

Harry kept an eye on things, wondering if Fry would speak up and tell the truth about not being the captain, but the woman kept shut. Either she was realising that these people needed a leader and was taking up the mantle, or she was simply too afraid of their reactions to tell the truth.

"Now that that's out of the way, how's about we all get to work?" the green-eyed man suggested as he started to make his way down the side of the hull. "We can't stay here and simply wait for a rescue team, no one will miss us for at least another week. We need to know what we have and how much we have of it, and we need something to help us with the oxygen intake." He helped Jack and Hermione to the ground, then did the same with the youngest of the pilgrim boys.

"And that geologist-group 'Mione mentioned," Johns said, shortening Hermione's name without asking for permission. "Need to see if we can't find them as well. Probably should also dig a grave for the dead, not good to leave them out. No knowing what kind of critters they might attract."

Fry quickly led the group inside the ship to the main cabin, and went over to a rack of suits. "Pressure suits. There's liquid oxygen canisters inside, start ripping out all you can find out. Quick sips only, try to make them last."

"Are we goin' to die of dehydration or sunstroke or hunger, or maybe even somethin' worse? Will we have to turn into cannibals?" Jack asked as she was handed her canister. "What? You don't have to worry about scarin' me." She said when the other grown-ups simply stared at her.

"I think they're more worried about you scaring them," Harry said with a grin.

Zeke was staring at the canister in his hand, a thoughtful look on his face. "I think I might be able to make this air last us a bit longer, with your permission, 'o course, cap'n."

Fry blinked out of her thoughts, having been staring at the chained-up Riddick and wondering what the hell they were supposed to do with the man, and turned to Zeke. "Wha'? Yeah, sure, go right ahead. Anythin' that can help's welcome."

Harry listened to Fry's conversation with Johns concerning Riddick, but then focused back on the work he was helping Zeke with. Pulling down several tubes that had been used for the ship's water-supply, and were the cleanliest thing on this planet, he handed them off to the other man while Shezza gathered something that could be used as mouthpieces.

"It's unfortunate that the water-tank sprung such a big leak," Harry muttered to his two companions. "I could do with a good drink soon."

"Others are searching the cargo hold," Shezza said. "They're bound to find something to drink."

"Done!" Zeke said as he fixed the last piece. The liquid oxygen canisters were now attached to crude belts, a long white tube with mouthpiece would be used as a straw to suck on. They gathered all of the equipment, and with Fry and Johns exited the main hull of the ship, heading towards the cargo hold. As he was the last one to exit, Harry could feel a pair of eyes following his every movement. He turned back and stared straight at Riddick who was staring back, though with those goggles it was hard to tell.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the convict, then simply turned around and left. He knew that the others were afraid of Riddick, anxious with a convict amongst their midst, but Harry was determined not to let fear rule him; besides, after seeing and duelling against Voldemort, an angry Hungarian Horntail, killing a basilisk and dying before coming back to life again, there was little left that could truly frighten him. And he wasn't completely defenceless, even without magic.

He could still feel eyes boring into his neck, and shuddered despite himself.

-x-x-x-x-

For all his nagging, Paris had turned out to be invaluable. He had rented two of the three cargo-holds on the ship to transport his goods, and there was a wide variety of them. His liquor was passed around and everyone but the Chrislams had a sip. Imam and his charges would've gone thirsty if it hadn't been for Harry and Hermione giving them the water they had brought, while the witch and the wizard settled for the alcohol.

"Thank you, my friends." Imam sounded genuine as always. There didn't seem to be one bad bone in that man's body.

"Nothing to it." Harry smiled. He really liked the Chrislam pilgrims. "Don't drink too much, Jack, your body isn't used to alcohol. Besides, you need to keep your wits about you."

"And alcohol only dehydrates you further, so this, quite frankly, isn't really a good idea." Hermione added her two cents in, then took a swig of her own bottle of alcohol before coughing slightly.

At this point Johns, who had gone out to check on his prisoner, came storming back into the cargo hold, looking like a storm cloud. "Riddick's escaped." He practically growled. That really managed to make a commotion amongst the others, and frightened looks were sent all around as if expecting said escaped convict to suddenly appear out of the shadows and kill them all.

"Oh brother," Harry rubbed his face. "What else can go wrong?"

"Alright, what kind of weapons do we have?" Fry asked.

It took some time as they searched through every locker in the cargo-hold, trying to find something useful to defend themselves with. Harry and Hermione praised themselves lucky that their single locker had survived the crash, and that their own stuff was still there. Both of them had a few Ministry-issued knives of various sizes, and a stun gun each of all things! Shezza and Zeke managed to dig up their own stash from the chaos, pulling out a pickaxe, some digging tools and a hunting boomerang. Imam had his ceremonial knife, but that was it. Once again it was Paris who provided them with most of the stuff, as he pulled out various antique weapons from several different lockers.

After the weapons-hunt was over, the group gathered in the main hull, and looked down at the surprisingly impressive collection.

"Not too bad," Fry said.

"What the hell is this?" Zeke asked, pulling out one of the weapons that Paris had brought in.

"Maratha crow-bill war-picks from Northern India. Very rare." Paris replied and took the weapon away from Zeke.

"An' this?" the other man had pulled out another curio.

"Blow-dart hunting stick from Papua New Guinea. That's very, very rare since the tribe's now extinct."

"Couldn't hunt shit with these things, be my guess." Zeke muttered.

Paris glared at him before turning to Johns. "Look, what's the use anyway? If the man's gone, he's gone. Why should he bother us?"

"He can only live out there for so long," the blond merc pointed out calmly. "He'll need the things that we have. And when he comes back, you can be sure that there'll be killin'. Lets head out."

They had agreed to part into two groups, one of which was going to search for water and the geologists camp, and the other was going to stay back at the crash site to bury the dead, and to break into all the lockers in the cargo hold in hope of finding some food. Hermione, who was going with the group that was heading out, was almost giddy with excitement, and Harry had to remind her to keep as much control as possible over her magic, and to use the liquid oxygen sparingly. The Chrislams, who were also going with this group, had changed into traditional Bedouin head-gear, and Johns had produced two caps, giving one to Fry.

"Harry, Zeke, you two keep guard around here." Johns said to the two. He pulled out a gun, cocked it and handed it to Zeke. "Don't be afraid to use it. Shoot first, ask questions later. And Harry, be careful with all those knives. Riddick's nickname would've been Sir Shiv-a-lot if it were up to me."

"I understand," Harry replied, wondering where such a corny name came from and just how long it had taken Johns to come up with it. "No need to worry, Johns, I'll do a wide perimeter search while Zeke digs the graves, and Paris will be on watch atop the ship."

"Well, then, we ought to get going. The suns are setting, and it'll be cooler and easier to search for anything." Fry pointed out.

Suddenly one of the younger pilgrim boys, Suleiman if Harry remembered correctly, came running towards them, waving his arms and shouting for Imam in his native tongue. Once he reached them, he pointed excitedly in a direction, babbling eagerly, obviously wanting them all to see something. Harry, Johns, Zeke, Fry and everyone else either climbed up onto the ship, or ran around it, and stared open-mouthed at what they discovered.

"Merlin's beard!" Hermione gasped.

"My bloody oath!" Shezza exclaimed.

"Oh bugger." Harry groaned.

A blue star was flaring into view as the red and the yellow suns were setting. There was absolutely no night on this planet.

"Three suns?!" Jack exclaimed. "This planet has three suns?!"

"So much for your nightfall," Zeke said to Fry.

"So much for my cocktail hour." Paris muttered, almost pouting comically.

Imam, on the other hand, didn't have such a negative view of things. "We take this as a good sign," he said. "A path, a direction from Allah. Blue sun, blue water."

"Very good sign," Johns snorted as he jumped off the top of the ship. "That's Riddick's direction. You do not wanna be caught in the dark with him."

_'Didn't we just point out that there was no night or darkness on this planet?' _the green-eyed man thought sarcastically.

Fry blinked. "I thought you found his restraints over there, towards sunset?"

"I did, which means he went towards sunrise." Johns nodded. With a sigh the blond merc called out, "Alright! Everyone with my group head out!"

Harry grabbed Hermione's hand. "Be careful, 'Mione."

She smiled at him. "I will. You be careful too." She said, then ran after the rest of the group, falling into step with Imam and his pilgrims.

Green eyes watched the departing group worriedly, until Zeke and Shezza called for his attention. Harry jumped down from his perch on top of the ship, and walked over to the congregated group. Paris had tied a red handkerchief around his head to protect him from the worst of the heat, and to tell the truth he looked rather silly with it. Jack was wearing a pair of sunglasses that Harry had had in his backpack, and Harry himself had wrapped a long shawl around his head like a Muslim woman, his long braid swinging with each step he took. Zeke and Shezza didn't seem too bothered with the heat, but they did come from a warmer climate after all.

"Lets get started," Shezza said. "Jack, you're with me, helping me break through the lockers in the cargo hold. Paris, you'll be on guard duty while Zeke and Harry get the bodies and dig the grave. Everyone understand? Alright, lets get to it."

They parted ways quickly, all of them hurrying to their appointed tasks.

Harry wasn't sure what it was exactly, but his instincts told him something bad would happen, and he slipped into the mindset he had often been in during the war. _'On this harsh world it's obviously kill or be killed,'_ he thought as he followed Zeke in order to find an appropriate place to bury their dead. _'And I intend to live for another good couple of years, thank you very much.'_

* * *

**Part Four:**

_"Harry?" _

_Harry looked up at his two best friends standing in the doorway. "Yes?"_

_"Can we talk to you for a minute, mate?" Ron asked, anxiousness colouring his voice. _

_"Is anything wrong?" the green-eyed teen asked as the other two sat down on the sofa opposite him._

_Hermione shook her head quickly. "Nothing's wrong, we… we just wanted you to be the first to know."_

_"Know what?"  
_

_Ron took a deep breath, his hand unconsciously grabbing Hermione's. "We, that is, me and 'Mione, we're getting married. Once all this publicity calms down, and once we get some long-term time off from the DD1. And we were wondering if you'd be my best man?"_

_The black-haired teen blinked, then grinned widely. "That's wonderful! Congratulations to the both of you! And of course I'll be your best man, Ron. Someone has to keep you from getting cold feet."  
_

_Hermione laughed while the redhead sputtered and blushed, finally managing to end it with a muttered 'traitor'._

_Harry chuckled. "Have you told your parents?"_

_"As Ron said, we want to wait until everything calms down to give the happy news." Hermione said, smiling like a happy loon._

_They spent another while talking before Mrs Weasley called for Ron to help her set the table, and Harry watched as the two left the room, Hermione heading towards the library. For a second he could've sworn he saw a tendril of magic connecting Hermione and Ron, but then the vision, or whatever it was, was gone, and he shook his head. Either he was hallucinating or that had been real._

'Better check it out later just in case.' _Harry thought to himself. That tendril of magic connecting his two best friends could've been nothing to worry about, but better be safe than sorry._

-x-x-x-x

"Hermione your girlfriend?" Zeke asked as he and Harry carried the last of the bodies from the main hull of the ship.

Harry blinked. "Not at all, whatever gave you that idea?"

"Two of you're awfully close, just gets a bloke wonderin'."

The braided younger man chuckled. "We're only best friends. She is engaged to Ron, a mutual friend of ours. We were on our way to meet up with him when this all happened."

Zeke puffed his liquid oxygen breather as they lowered the cloth-wrapped corpse beside five others. "On the way to their weddin'?"

"Not quite yet, they decided to wait for a while before tying the knot." Harry replied and stretched.

The two of them had quickly chosen where to bury the dead in a mass grave – a spot that seemed like a natural, surprisingly deep hollow in the ground – and had quickly set to wrapping up the corpses of the dead in whatever they could find, and dragging them there. They had also brought a large piece of cloth and set it up as a tent above said hollow to shield for the sun once they started digging. Paris had made himself quite comfortable atop the ship, having brought out one of the fold-up chairs he had intended to sell, and settling himself quite nicely in it. He had also brought out a fold-up table and a large, exotic-looking umbrella, and had created himself quite the cosy, shady place up there. Shezza had, as agreed, dragged Jack over to the cargo hold – both to help her break into the other lockers, and also in order to keep the young teen from seeing what Harry and Zeke were doing.

"Didn't mean to pry, mate." Zeke apologised.

"It's alright."

The older man picked up their only shovel and got under the makeshift tent. "I'll dig the hole, and you can fill it up again, deal?"

Harry blinked. "If you are sure."

"Yeah, can't stand bein' out in the sun anymore, anyways."

"Alright then. I'll take a walk around the perimeter, so just call if you need anything." The long-haired man started to wander off, absentmindedly heading towards the tall forest of earthen spires. The things had captured his attention ever since he set foot on this planet, and he wanted to know exactly what they were, and why they were there. He didn't bother to run, but instead walked leisurely, reaching the things in about fifteen minutes.

A wind had picked up, and Harry removed the shawl covering his head, allowing the much-wanted breeze to run through his hair. It felt really good, and despite the three suns it actually cooled him off a bit. He tied the shawl around his waist, like a brightly-coloured sash, letting the ends hang down, and approached the closest spire.

"Hard-packed mud?" he muttered to himself. The spires were all made of hard-packed mud, some of them twice as tall as Hagrid – which said something. He brought out one of the three throwing-knives on his person, and drove it as hard as he could into the spire. Turned out he hadn't needed to use all his strength, since the things were hollow. The top of the spire collapsed off to the side, forcing Harry to jump away, trying not to cough his lungs out and shielding his eyes from all the dust.

Once the dust settled again, Harry approached the halved spire and examined it. There were no marks on the mud inside, nothing to indicate exactly how the spires had come to be in the first place. The spire led down into what he supposed was an underground cavern, and it made him wonder whether there were any creatures down there. He stared down into the darkness with narrowed eyes, allowing his animal side to come to the forefront. Staring down into the darkness, and breathing with his mouth in order to see if there really was something down there. Just like a snake, he could taste it in the air, another rather nice side-effect of the basilisk venom.

He stood there for a long while, simply waiting and watching, and slowly he became aware of something moving in the darkness. He didn't know what it was, it was totally unknown to his senses, but it was there and there was more than one. There were many of them, very many, and they were all seemingly moving in the same direction. Dropping down on his stomach, Harry pressed his ear to the ground and concentrated on listening. He could hear slight, muffled noises of something slithering somewhere, and also some strange clicking sounds.

When he was sure that he had the correct direction, Harry looked up wondering if he could see where the underground creatures were headed, and stopped up short. The things were headed straight for the crash site, and Zeke who was still digging the mass grave. Sudden realisation sparked in him, and he jumped to his feet.

"Fucking hell, this is the last thing we need!" he growled to himself and started running for the crash site, taking a few puffs of the liquid oxygen.

Just before he could exit the forest of spires, a flash out of the corner of his eye and instincts to him to hit the deck and keep on rolling. Which is exactly what he did. Quickly getting back to his feet again, Harry's green eyes went here and there, and finally landed on the figure of his assailant.

Tall and muscular, Richard B. Riddick really did make a striking figure.

"Fuck." Harry couldn't stop himself from cursing again. Some god up there really had to hate him for some strange reason. First they made him immune to cryo-sleep, then they put him on a ship with a dangerous convict, then said convict caught him snooping around in his head, the ship crashed on some backwater desert planet, prisoner escaped, some sort of creature underground was heading towards Zeke, and then the previously-mentioned escapee choosing this as the perfect time to pop up again.

"Good instincts," Riddick said. He had a deep, dark voice that matched the rest of him. "Almost got you." He held up the piece of string that Harry had been using to tie off the end of his long braid. In the other hand he held a very sharp knife that seemed to be fashioned out of bone.

"Subtle knife-work," Harry commented back, keeping his eyes focused completely on the other man, ready to move at a moment's notice. It was obvious that Riddick had the advantage when it came to strength, but Harry had speed on his side. All the green-eyed man figured he had to do, was to keep out of Riddick's reach. "Look, I don't suppose you'd be willing to come back and finish this later?"

Riddick simply smirked whilst sliding into a stance, dropping the hair-tie.

"Didn't think so." The green-eyed man muttered.

The first attack was quick and deadly, aimed to kill, but Harry quickly avoided it and drew his own knives. He went on the offensive, trying to find a weak spot in the other man's defence, but it was difficult – especially since he constantly had to stay out of hand-to-hand combat range. Harry threw one of his knives, aiming for a shoulder in an attempt to disable his opponent. Riddick, however, avoided it smoothly, and the knife barely grazed him before embedding in one of the mud spires.

"You didn't succumb to cryo-sleep," Riddick said as he attacked again. "And you took a little trip inside my head. How did you do it?"

"Which one?" Harry asked, sliding slightly on the small rocks under his feet.

Riddick quickly took advantage of the situation, and tackled the smaller male. The two of them rolled down the slight slope, both trying to get away and receiving shallow, insignificant slice-wounds from each other. With a final push Riddick ended up pinning Harry to the ground, one hand tightly gripping the wrist of Harry's right hand, the other holding the bone-knife to the other's throat. However, Harry wasn't one to be outdone, and was holding one of his own knives in his free hand, tapping it gently against the other's inner thigh, dangerously close to a certain important part of the male anatomy.

"Make a move if you dare." Harry hissed, glaring defiantly up at the bigger man, practically goading the other into making said move.

"Sassy," came the appreciative mutter from the other, lips twitching upwards. "How did you do it?" he continued, meaning his earlier two questions, the bone-knife being pressed just a little more into pale skin. When no answer came after a few minutes, Riddick pressed the knife closer. "How?" he growled, demanding the answer.

The growl sent shivers up and down Harry's spine, in fact this entire situation did. His entire body was hyper aware of the larger body pinning him to the ground, the dark and dangerous aura that he had started to associate with this man only, enveloped them both completely, shutting off all other senses, demanding that he give in to a more superior hunter. When the bone-knife pressed a bit too much for Harry's comfort, he finally gave in with a glare, pressing his own knife closer in warning. "I don't repress my inner animal." He hissed, his eyes practically shooting sparks.

"Interesting…" Riddick trailed off as he stared at the slit pupils.

A sudden shot coming from the direction of the crash site, made them both look in that direction, a healthy survival instinct making them both wary when there was shooting that they had no control over. Harry used the distraction and with all his might pushed at the heavier body atop of his. Unexpected as it was, Riddick was thrown off, and Harry scrambled quickly to his feet, heading as fast as he could towards the ship. He could hear Riddick following him, and for some strange reason it felt like he was in a more dangerous, more deadly, much more primal and animal-like game of Harry Hunting.

As they zigzagged, swung at each other and tried to trip each other up, they heard a series of shots coming from the mass grave. Upon finally reaching the white cloth covering the grave, Harry threw himself down and slid like a snake into the surprisingly deep grave, giving his pursuer no chance to grab him. He looked around wildly, but Zeke was nowhere to be found. However, there was a new hole in one of the walls of the grave, the edge of it smeared with blood. Harry quickly ducked down onto all fours, looking into the hole where Zeke obviously had disappeared into, only to be tugged back when someone grabbed his hair. Looking up Harry found himself in yet another stare-down match with Riddick, the convict having tried to grab Harry's liquid oxygen breather but ending up with the surprisingly intact braid instead.

"Zeke! Zeke!" Shezza's voice made them both freeze for a second, and then the covering over the grave was pulled aside, revealing the woman herself. She stopped dead in her tracks.

Harry supposed that the current picture presented to the Australian woman was not a good one. Him kneeling down by a bloodied hole, one arm stuck into it slightly, his braid being tightly held onto by none other than Riddick, and both of them holding blood-covered knives from their fight earlier. 'It's like being caught with your hand in the proverbial cookie jar.'

The arrival of Jack and Paris snapped Shezza, Harry and Riddick out of their rather comical freeze. Riddick dropped the braid and ran off, Harry jumped to his feet and opened his mouth to explain things. However, Shezza seemed only to have eyes for the bloodied knife, and without preamble kicked at Harry's head with a furious scream. The kick luckily didn't connect fully, but simply grazed his temple, otherwise Harry was sure that he would have ended up with a concussion. As it was he ended up very dizzy, his head aching and spinning, and he vaguely heard Shezza ordering Paris and Jack to keep their weapons trained at him, before she grabbed Harry's own knife and set off after Riddick.

Harry found himself on the verge of unconsciousness, sometimes being more lucid and hearing a furious argument somewhere close to him, and other times being so much out of it that he didn't even notice when Johns hand-cuffed him to a support-beam in the ceiling of the main hull, simply allowing him to hang there despite Hermione's passionate arguments.

When he regained complete consciousness, no more than half an hour could've passed, and he groaned as he took the weight off his shoulders and stood up properly, testing the shackles with a few tugs. Looking around the room, he found Riddick chained up completely to the wall to his right, the man's head resting on his chest. Riddick was still clearly out of it, which made Harry wonder just how hard he had been hit.

"Bloody hell," he muttered as he leaned against the wall. "You try to play the good Samaritan and save a guy, and this is what you get."

Riddick woke up about ten minutes later, and smirked in amusement at Harry's predicament. "Your braid's undone." Was the only comment that came from him.

"Since you're the one who ruined it, it's your job to fix it." Harry sniffed, having no idea where this weird conversation came from or where it was going. Never had he bantered like this with Voldemort or any of the Death Eaters, but Riddick seemed to draw out that side of him, and Harry found himself getting addicted to the taste of flirting with danger. 'This day is getting weirder and weirder.'

The next couple of minutes Harry and Riddick simply spent in a surprisingly comfortable stare-down contest. Harry observing the other's face, wondering what kind of eyes were hidden behind those ever-present goggles. Their contest was interrupted when Johns entered the hull, and Harry looked over at the merc. He could feel Riddick's gaze on his form for a moment longer, a slight feeling of triumph entering the room, before the convict looked over at the blond man as well.

"What happened?" Johns demanded in a harsh tone, glaring at them both.

"I would like to know that as well," Harry demanded right back, pulling on his chained arms for emphasis. "Why the hell am I chained up?"

"I ask the questions and you answer them!" Johns growled and gripped Harry's chin harshly. "Now, what happened?"

Harry's eyes narrowed, but he answered anyway. "Zeke and I found the perfect spot to dig a grave, and dragged the corpses there. Zeke said he'd dig the hole and that I'd fill it back up, so I decided to do a wide perimeter search. Headed towards those earthen spires to the right of the ship, examined them as best I could. Heard some noises from one of said spires, found the direction the noises were going in, and headed back to the ship two warn Zeke. Had a little confrontation with Riddick. We heard gunshots, but came a bit too late to save Zeke. Blood was smeared around the opening as you've probably seen."

"And why was he gripping your braid?"

"Wanted the breather, got a hold of the wrong thing." Riddick growled out.

Johns retreated as step or two, and then sneered before delivering a hard punch to both of them. "You really think I'll believe that? C'mon you two, tell me a better lie!"

"Johns!" Fry's commanding voice came from the opening of the hull. "Get your ass out here, now!"

Luckily Johns left, and Harry glared after the man. "I really want to kill that man." He muttered and carefully licked the new cut on his lip.

It didn't take long before Fry herself entered the cabin, and spent a minute staring at the two chained up men. "So, where is he?" she asked.

Riddick and Harry shared a quick, slightly amused look at this. They were trying to play good-cop-bad-cop with them, and both found it amusing. Sure, the two might have tried to kill each other no less than an hour ago, but right now they were comrades in chains, and that had almost automatically forged a sort of shaky temporary alliance between them.

"Tell me about the sounds, then. You told Johns that your heard some sounds before the gunshots…" Fry continued, but trailed off when it was clear that neither of the two men were about to talk. "If you don't talk to me, then Johns'll simply come back in here and take another crack at it, and your skulls."

"Mean the whispers?" Riddick finally spoke up from his dark corner, in an equally dark voice.

Fry blinked. "What whispers?"

"The ones tellin' me to go for the sweet spot, just left of the spine, fourth lumbar down. The abdominal aorta. Metallic taste to it, human blood. Coppery. But if you cut it with peppermint schnapps, that goes away-"

"Why don't we try shocking me with the truth now?" Fry demanded despite the fact that she was clearly uncomfortable.

"All of you people are so scared of me – except, perhaps, the sassy little snake here," Riddick sounded thoroughly amused as he nodded towards Harry. "Most days I'd take that as a compliment. But it ain't me you gotta worry about now."

Harry glared. "Call me that one more time, and I will cut off your family jewels." He hissed.

The woman gathered her courage, and stepped forwards. "Show me your eyes, Riddick."

_'What an abrupt change in topic.' _The green-eyed man mused as he watched the other two interact. _'And what's the deal with the eyes anyway? If he doesn't want to show them, then he doesn't want to show them, end of story. It's not like it's the end of the world if everyone doesn't know exactly what colour they are. What can be so special about them? Is one eye blue and the other black, or something?'_

Fry had reached out, and had removed the goggles, but Riddick's eyes stayed shut. She had asked again, and the man had told her to come closer, and closer. And suddenly Riddick shot out of his chair, as if attacking, but the chains held him back. Fry jumped backwards a bit, her eyes wide and mouth open as she stared at what had been revealed. Riddick's eyes had no irises, just a pair of huge black-pool pupils. There was a silver-ish, jewel-like eye-shine that seemed to come from deep within the man, giving him the dangerous and yet beautiful look of a starved jaguar.

"Where the hell can I get eyes like that?"

The three of them turned towards the stairs leading out, finding Jack standing beside one of the fallen bulkheads.

_'I thought she thought my eyes were cool.' _The green-eyed man almost pouted.

"You've gotta kill a few people," Riddick told the girl.

Jack was almost bouncing. "That's alright, I can do it!"

_'That sounds so wrong coming from a thirteen-year-old girl's mouth.'_

"Then you gotta be sent to a slam where they'll tell you that you'll never see daylight again. And you dig up a doctor, and pay him twenty menthol cools to do a surgical shine-job on your eyeballs."

The teen was grinning as she understood the meaning. "So that you can see who's sneaking up on you in the dark."

"Exactly."

"Jack! Get out of here! Now!" Fry's voice cut into the conversation, ordering the youngest person away. After spending a minute looking like she wanted to argue, Jack finally disappeared.

"Cute kid." Riddick commented.

_'The convict calmly commenting on the cuteness of a kid, now that's cute.' _Harry snickered to himself.

"Did I kill a few people? Sure. But did I kill Zeke? No. You've got the wrong killer."

"Then where is he? He's not in the hole, we've looked."

"Look deeper." Was Riddick's reply to that.

Harry almost winced at that, knowing that Hermione would down right insist on going down there. He had to at least try to stop them from doing something so stupid. "I would advise you not to go into that hole. There's something down there, and it's gotten a taste for human flesh. You'd be walking into a death trap for sure."

She looked at him, in a mix between disappointment and distrust. "Duly noted," she finally replied before walking away.

"Hermione better not die down there, Fry!" Harry called after her, his voice threatening. Then leaned heavily against the wall, grumbling about stupid situations, fucking idiots not listening to good advice, and idiotic know-it-all women who simply had to know everything about anything, and couldn't leave well enough alone. He growled. _'Damn!'_

* * *

**Part Five:**

The blue-eyed devil had shot two kids to get to him this time, kids that hadn't done anything wrong in their entire lives. Children were the only thing worthwhile in this fucked up universe, and they were the only thing that could be counted as a weakness when it came to him. Riddick had wanted to rip off the devil's fucking blond head at that moment, but he'd held back, biding his time. Hell of a lot good that had led to, being recaptured and having Johns gloat in his face again. But this time the merc had chosen a ghost lane back to slam, and things often went wrong on those.

Being transported with civilians had been something of an insult, but Johns had probably used up most of the money the merc-guild had given him to get high. Riddick had resigned himself to a long, boring trip. Using his senses to examine the other travellers. Women, men, even a few children. The crew, free-settlers, hoodoo holy pilgrims, opportunists, there was every kind. Then he'd come across them. The young man and the young woman who held a different sort of energy than the rest, a controlled yet wild energy, ready for use. Powerful. Something he had never stumbled across before. The sense of danger had lied hidden around them, but he'd easily picked up on it. They had both killed before, and would do so again if forced to. They were interesting. The feel of that energy almost addictive. Had to watch out for that, didn't want to make the same mistake as Johns.

Far out into the trip someone had suddenly, carefully started to poke around in his brain. Didn't like that one bit. Had tried to capture them, but the little snake had escaped. Had left some clues though. An image of long black, braided hair, and green eyes. The feel of the foreign energy told him it was one of them, the young man. There had been something different about the feel of the energy, unlike the woman's this was something… primal, animal-like. Nothing as strong as his own animal-side, but it told him that someone else was awake during cryo-sleep. First time that had happened as well. It'd made Riddick doubly curious.

The crash had been almost expected. He'd tried to escape, of course, but the blue-eyed devil stopped him. Again. Really was going to kill Johns at some point, couldn't take much more of the man. Annoying as hell. As the survivors had left the main hull, he'd finally gotten a good look at them. The woman wasn't much, ordinary looking with a mane of bushy hair. The man, on the other hand, caught Riddick's attention at once. Body was built for speed, endurance. Was no stranger to situations out of the ordinary, kept calm where everyone else felt anxious. The very long braid, messed up during the crash, swung with every step. Wanted to run his hands through that curtain of hair for some reason. Found it fascinating. Hadn't managed to catch sight of the green eyes he knew were there.

Owens' screams had been annoyingly loud, and Fry had used up what was left of the ship's water-supply to wash off the blood. Her movements had been quick, hurried, nervous, her eyes flickering around in the half-darkness of the cabin. Riddick had listened carefully to the conversation going on outside, deciding that the bushy-haired woman was highly knowledgeable and valuable. The green-eyed snooping snake turned out to be brutally honest, hindering the survivors from falling into a false sense of security. He was an experienced fighter, a hunter, but Johns seemed to not take much notice of it.

He wanted one of those liquid oxygen breathers. He may not have gotten one, but he did get a stare-down with green-eyed man. Riddick glared from behind his goggles, challenging the other man, wanting to smell fear colouring the other's scent. What he got in return was a simple dismissal. First time someone had to such a degree ignored the threat he represented, having absolutely no fear of him at all. There was no submission to be found in the act, even though the other looked away first. Riddick's curiosity for that pair seemed to grow in leaps and bounds. He'd also admit that Green-Eyes was very pleasing to the eye, certainly much better to stare at than Johns all the time, or even Fry.

His next escape-attempt went much better. He waited for the group searching for the geologist camp in the graveyard, hidden between the enormous bones. Heard a very interesting conversation between Fry and Johns. What a pair those two made. The bushy-haired woman had almost found him as she wandered between and inside the large skeletons, making notes in a book, trying to find out what had killed the beasts, but she had been called away by the oldest pilgrim. Riddick had waited for a while longer, before heading back to the crash site. He wanted to talk to the green-eyed snake, and he wanted one of those breathers.

Riddick found the green-eyed man amongst the earthen spires, and observed as the other examined them carefully, putting his ear to the ground and listening for the excited clicking noises that Riddick could vaguely hear. Smart man. The position also gave Riddick a good look at the smaller man's ass, planting dangerous ideas. Then the other had started running for the crash site, and he had attacked. As expected the little snake had avoided the attack, but Riddick had gotten a feel of that long braid and found that he liked the texture and thickness of it. The following scuffle had been informative; the smaller man was agile, quick, and very bold, Riddick decided upon feeling a blade pressing into his inner thigh. Then the green-eyed snake had challenged him instead of submitting to the stronger hunter, and he had added 'deliciously sassy' to the list of attributes.

Wanting answers to his questions Riddick had pressed on, getting an answer that only raised more questions. The green eyes with the slit pupils were almost hypnotic, catching his gaze easily. The sudden shot had surprised them both, ending up with the sassy little snake managing to escape his hold. It had been… fun chasing the other around, his animal-side rejoicing more in that one short chase than any of the others. Rejoicing that he had found someone alike him. They had quickly reached the newly-dug mass-grave, the other man easily sliding under the shading before he could catch him. Riddick had reached after the other's breather lying in easy reach on the unprotected back, but the wind had blown the pitched cloth in his way, and he had instead grabbed the long braid. Another staring-contest had ensued. Shezza's appearance along with the other two, had pulled him out of his freeze. He had ran, but the fucking blue-eyed devil had shown up, had taken his goggles. Shortly after that everything had gone black.

He'd woken up chained up again – his goggles covering his eyes again – but now with the green-eyed snake in the room as well. He was amused at the other's dishevelled look, the braid dusty, half the hair escaping it. To his surprise, Riddick enjoyed the way the other gave as good as he got. Usually something like that would annoy him, but not with the sassy little snake. The man looked good chained up like that, gave Riddick several interesting and very lust-filled ideas. Johns entrance had put a stop to those. He really was going to kill the man soon. Green-Eyes was the first to look away from their staring contest this time, and he'd felt triumphant, his animal-side rejoicing at the unconscious submission. Before Johns could do much damage he had been called away by Fry, Riddick paying more attention to the way the green-eyed snake licked his newly-split lip than the blond devil's departure. Sassy and seductive – doubly so since he wasn't trying to be either.

Could feel the great amusement from the smaller man when Fry entered and tried to interrogate them. She wasn't good at the good-cop-bad-cop routine. Young Jack's entrance was interesting, gave him the opportunity to freak out Fry even more. Especially when she demanded to see his eyes. The feel of the green-eyed snake's interested and curious gaze, had brought back all those ideas that Johns had chased away. Told them to look deeper. Fry had left then, the two of them lapsing into silence. All they could do now was wait.

Ideas and thoughts continued to run through his head as he observed the long-haired man. He quickly came to the conclusion that he wouldn't mind fucking the green-eyed snake, wouldn't mind at all. Especially if the other growled like that during it. First he had to get out of these chains, though he had to admit he wouldn't mind if the other stayed chained up.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry was only vaguely aware of those silver-ish eyes observing him, most of his thoughts were with Hermione. He was truly worried for her safety for the first time in years. Whatever creature lived underground, whatever it was that had gotten a hold of Zeke, it was an unknown factor that they had no idea how to deal with. He would've been happy to just leave it like that, satisfied with the knowledge that whatever those creatures were they were deadly, but Hermione was different. She needed to know everything about anything, even those things that humanity wasn't ready to know about yet. _'She doesn't have to know every bloody detail of creation!'_

The wait couldn't have been much more than 45 minutes, perhaps an hour, but it seemed like eternity. At one point Harry could've sworn that Riddick twitched a couple of times, but he ignored it after sending the other man a look. A few minutes after this odd, little episode, Harry could hear the return of the other survivors, their voices sounding both excited and worried. Hermione entered the ship almost at a run, and hurried over to Harry.

"It was completely unbelievable, Harry!" was the first thing out of her mouth. "There seems to be an entire ecosystem of sorts down there! And these creatures! Wow! Never could get a good look at them, they stuck to the shadows and the darkness and were quick as snakes, but they definitely used echolocation to move about. That means that they're more or less completely blind! Oh, how I would love to examine these creatures closer in a safe environment! But the good thing is that me and Fry – she went down there with me – we found Zeke's flashlight and his foot!"

"His foot?" Harry asked, wondering just how something like that could be a good thing.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, his foot. From the ankle down, still in its shoe. Anyway, now that we have proof that there is something down there, and that it ate Zeke – as sad as his fate was – the two of you don't need to be chained up anymore. Besides, we've decided to head out to the abandoned geologist camp."

"You found it? Abandoned?"

"Yes, it's even got a water-pump of sort, and Imam thinks that he can get it working again. Haven't had the chance to explore the camp fully, so I have no idea exactly how long it has been abandoned. But you should've seen the graveyard of large bones we passed through before reaching the camp! They're humongous! I think the creatures were some sort of whales when alive, seemed like it from the shape of the skeletons. Could mean that at one point this entire planet was covered with water! Isn't this exciting?!" she was practically bouncing in front of him.

"Yes, wonderful, fascinating, now please open the sesame." the green-eyed man tugged pointedly on his chains.

Hermione blinked in surprise. "But I don't have the key, Johns does. He'll be here soon. I just wanted to tell you what we discovered."

Harry was this close to banging his head against the closest hard surface. Hermione, for all her smarts, could sometimes forget the most important of things. "Wonderful." He muttered dryly.

"Isn't it? Oh, I'll go and see what's keeping Johns. Be right back, so don't go anywhere." And with that she ran out again.

Riddick's amusement was almost touchable, a deep rumble passing for laughter welling up in him.

"One word out of you, and I'll cut off your pride and joy." Harry hissed at the bigger man.

"You're very interested in my cock." Riddick commented with a smirk.

Harry froze, his eyes grew wide, and then he promptly managed to splutter out, "Th-there's no need to feel honoured, I assure you. I just figure that with the life I assume you've lived, normal threats on said life won't cut it."

Johns stalked into the main hull of the ship, walking straight over to them, a large, black, fancy-looking shotgun on a harness slung over one shoulder. He stared at them both for a minute, then stepped forwards towards Riddick. "If it were up to me, you'd stay chained like a dog."

Riddick smirked. "Finally found something worse than me, huh?"

"Just wonderin' if I shouldn't lighten the load right now and spare us all for a lot of trouble." Johns visibly pulled himself together. "Here's the deal: you work without the chains, without the bit, and without the shivs. You do what I say when I say it, and you help us get off this rock."

"For what?" the convict growled. "The honour of going back to some asshole of a cell? Fuck you!"

"The truth is, Riddick, that I'm tired of this head-huntin' shit. I wanna be free of you as much as you wanna be free of me." Johns sighed tiredly.

"Are you saying you'd cut me loose?"

"I'm thinkin' you could've died in the crash – but only if the both of us get outta this alive."

Harry, who had been silent so far, raised an eyebrow at this. Somehow he simply couldn't believe that Johns, a top-class merc, could be doing this out of the goodness of his heart. And while the given excuse could be believable, Harry quickly discarded it. They were talking about a man who had been analysed by a professional psychologist, and had been diagnosed as obsessive. That much he had managed to glean from the man's thoughts before the crash, and Ron's various jobs as a merc had taught the trio a few hard lessons about that particular lifestyle as well; so Harry snorted at the proposal. Johns glared at him.

Riddick had apparently reached the same conclusion as Harry, and growled. "My recommendation: do me. Don't take the chance that I'll get shiv-happy on your wanna-be ass. Ghost me, fucker, that's what I would do to you."

Without warning the blond merc brought up his shotgun, pointing it point-blank at Riddick's face. He held it there for a moment longer, before starting to speak. "If you were me, I'd kill us both." He ratcheted the gun, and pulled the trigger. "I want you to remember this moment. The way it could've gone, but didn't." Johns slowly lowered the gun, then held out his hand both to help Riddick up and to give the convict back the dark goggles that Fry had run off with.

There was an almost visible tension in the air as the two stared at each other, and Harry wished that he could disappear. There was some serious shit between Riddick and Johns, that much would be clear to anyone with eyes. The line of hunter and hunted blurred when it came to them, and it really didn't make for a comfortable atmosphere to be in. Finally Riddick reached for the goggles, only to grab the shotgun with his other hand in a move that was far too fast to follow with the naked eye if one wasn't expecting it. Now Johns found himself staring down the barrel of his own shotgun, and raised his hands into the air.

"Fuck you!" Riddick growled angrily.

"Easy, easy. You wanna sit at the grown-up table, or what?"

Riddick ratcheted the shotgun, pushing it against Johns' temple. "I want you to remember this moment." He echoed the blond man's words, and pumped the shotgun, blue shells falling around his feet. Dropping the emptied gun, Riddick grabbed his goggles, put them on, and walked away.

Harry relaxed with a sigh, grateful for the sudden change of the tense atmosphere. "You think you can get me out of these chains now, Johns?"

When the merc turned towards Harry, his face was set in an angry scowl. He quickly crossed the short distance between them, grabbed hold of the long, black hair just under Harry's neck, and pulled harshly forcing the younger man to wince and bend over backwards. "You might've been proven innocent, Harry, but I want you to know that your leash is as short as Riddick's." Johns jerked Harry's head back up again, and unlocked the cuffs. "Get out there."

Green eyes with slit pupils glared at the merc as Harry rubbed his wrists and exited the main hull. 'Johns is starting to get really annoying.'

-x-x-x-x-

The first part of the trip to the abandoned camp, Harry spent trying to work out the tangles and most of the dirt from his hair. It was made a bit more difficult by the constant, but very appreciated wind. It blew his hair around him like a veil, and more than one person seemed fascinated, almost hypnotized, by the thick, dark curtain. Jack and Ali – the youngest boy of the four pilgrims – had become quick friends despite the large language-barrier, and had both come up to him to run their hands through the long hair, not being able to stop themselves. Harry had therefore left his hair free for longer than he'd wanted to, before he finally braided it again.

"How can you stand it so long?" Jack had asked finally. She seemed to be completely fascinated by the long braid, probably never having seen something so long before.

"A lot of patience, amongst other things," Harry replied, and then grinned. "And the knowledge that its length annoys and pisses off several people of my acquaintance may have something to do with it."

"Does it ever!" Hermione sighed, but was smiling as well. "Last time we spoke Luna told me that Mrs Weasley's two most frequent messages – that she wanted Luna to give to us – was A) for Harry to cut his hair, and B) for Harry to marry a nice girl, preferably her own daughter."

Jack laughed at Harry's grimace. "And let me guess, you're gay, right?"

"Not yet," the green-eyed man replied. "I know I started out as bi, but with the way things are going I'm sure I'll end up bent as a circle before everything's said and done."

The teen continued laughing, before trying to explain the conversation to a curious Ali. Imam finally decided to step in and told his youngest charge everything with an amused glint in his eye, which in turn sent the three pilgrim boys into snickers. It may not have been the most polite thing to do, but in this situation – crashed on a largely-unknown planet in a system that was usually avoided by most spacecraft, and with some sort of unknown, dangerous creatures lurking underground – they all needed to relax and laugh a bit.

Paris, who was walking just behind them, made a sort of disgusted chocked sound, making his feelings clear on that particular matter, but no one paid him much mind. Ahead of them, Shezza turned around again. She had been doing this rather frequently, her eyes settling on Harry, clearly wanting to apologise, but she hadn't said anything yet. Fry and Johns were leading their little group, walking about ten paces ahead of the rest of them, discussing something or other. And Riddick was bringing up the rear, dragging a heavy quickly-made sled with one power-cell from the ship and some food and other knickknacks that people had wanted to take along, but hadn't been able to fit into their knapsacks or satchels. And since they weren't the ones who had to carry their own stuff, they had brought along a heck of a lot more than they otherwise would, and Fry had also insisted on bringing along many pieces of scrap metal from the crash ship, meaning to use it to fix a small skiff they had found at the abandoned settlement. This made for an incredibly heavy drag-sled for Riddick to tow.

_'Don't know whether I should feel sorry for the man for ending up as the pack mule, or to feel awed by the fact that he's kept up with us so far, dragging that heavy load in this heat and without a liquid-oxygen breather.'_ Harry mused as he cast a look over his shoulders at Riddick. _'Most definitely the latter, he'd probably kill me if I choose the former.'_

Harry and Hermione had both only taken with them the stuff they could fit into their own knapsacks – a lesson that had been quickly learned during their hunt for the horcruxes and the following war – and only useful stuff, like food and water, and a cutting torch they had found in one of the lockers in the cargo hold. Granted, Hermione did have several books and notebooks with her, but she never went anywhere without those, and she never complained about their weight.

"So, you click your fingers and he's suddenly one of us now?" Shezza, who had hurried ahead to walk with Fry and Johns, said to the blond man.

"I didn't say that," the merc replied. "But at least this way I don't have to worry about you all fallin' asleep and not wakin' up."

Harry really wanted to comment on that, wanted to point out to everyone that Johns hadn't made any mention of himself dying in his sleep, but he didn't – it would only bring trouble upon them if the group was split up into factions – and therefore settled for a soft, disbelieving snort. The blond merc really could give both Bellatrix and Voldemort a run for their money, the bloody bastard that he was.

"Well, I feel we owe Mr Riddick amends," Imam said calmly, earning himself unhappy looks from both Johns and Shezza. Most of them had already apologised privately, quickly and quietly to Harry.

Hermione, on the other hand, looked up from the notes she had been making while walking – a skill she had developed over the years – and nodded, with a determined look suddenly entering her eyes. "You are absolutely right," she declared to the mulatto man, turned around on the spot, walked back to Riddick, and with all seriousness sketched a small bow. "I apologise." She said simply, stayed bowed for a few seconds more, straightened, sent a good-natured smile at the very surprised convict, and walked back to where the rest of the group were watching in a mix of surprise, shock and approval.

"Did she just…?" Paris' stuttered and spluttered question trailed off, his eyes wide in shock.

Imam seemed to take courage from Hermione's actions, and – though he didn't approach Riddick – nodded his head deeply to the other man. "I beg forgiveness for accusing you unrightfully of something you did not do." He said.

"Alright! Alright! Time to break up this little guilt-trip and move on!" Johns called out in a thoroughly annoyed voice before anyone else could Imam's and Hermione's examples. Riddick's sudden jump from 'pack animal' to 'human' didn't sit well with him, not at all.

"So…" Jack spoke up in the ensuing tense silence. "Can I talk to him now?"

* * *

**Part Six:**

_Despite the fact that he currently found himself in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, Harry wasn't afraid of the dark night. He had the stars and the moon to help him get by, making it easy to find his way back to Hogwarts or to Hogsmeade. And he had his newly-discovered heat-sensor thanks to the basilisk venom. He couldn't see things outright, per se, but he could sense them in a way. Everything gave off some heat – living things because they were living, and dead objects had been heated up by the sun during the day, and now slowly cooled off. _

_At least it was so in the clearing that Harry currently found himself in. He wasn't too sure about the rest of the forest though, especially not the places where the sun never reached anymore._

_He stood there waiting for another couple of minutes, before rustling in the bushes alerted him to the approaching presence of the one he had been waiting for. He turned in the direction he could feel the most heat, and shuddered when the warmth washed over him as the other came closer. "Were the rest of the centaurs willing to talk to you, Firenze?"_

_The centaur sighed. "Both yes and no, young Harry. They will not join the upcoming political battles unless it the forest is at stake, but they did give me a message to pass on to you."_

_An eyebrow was raised as the two walked side by side, Firenze easily picking his way through the brush, his eyes used to the darkness after living his life in this very forest, and Harry easily following the practically-glowing heat-source on his left side. "A message for me?"_

_"Indeed," replied the centaur. "But I do not understand it. It was only one word, and I have never heard of it before in any tongue I know of."_

_"I doubt I will understand it either, but lets have it if you please."_

_"They said the word: Furya."_

_"… And that's all?"_

_"That is all."_

_"The centaurs have gone barmy. No offence."_

_"None taken."_

-x-x-x-x-

"So…" Jack spoke up in the ensuing tense silence. "Can I talk to him now?" she asked, obviously meaning Riddick.

"NO!" both Johns and Shezza bit out angrily.

Harry couldn't help the snicker that escaped him at the duo's in-tandem performance, but quickly (and rather poorly) masked it as a cough. "Sorry, sorry, the sand and the dust around here got into my lungs. Might be starting to become asthmatic like our dear Paris here."

Paris jumped nervously at the word 'dear', and quickly went to hurry ahead of the group to Shezza, Fry and Johns. However, in his nervousness he knocked a bottle of liquor out of his bulging satchel, and cursed as he kneeled down to get it only to stop as another hand picked it up. He looked upwards and then scrambled to his feet when he found himself staring at the resident convict and pack mule. "P-Paris B. Ogilvie. Antiquities dealer. Entrepreneur," he nervously introduced himself.

"Richard B. Riddick. Escaped convict. Murderer." Came the reply, Riddick shaking the other's hand and thoroughly enjoyed Paris' jumpy nervousness. Then he uncorked the bottle and started drinking.

_'Nice neck. Actually, the entire package is nice. Very nice, in fact.'_ Harry couldn't help but think, but then he quickly shook his head._ 'Such things will have to remain simple thoughts. First got to worry about getting off this damn planet, and pray to any gods out there that those creatures do not come topside while we are here. That'd just suck… hmmmmm, wouldn't mind sucking on some- NO MORE, DAMMIT!!'_

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry's odd behaviour. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing at all. Sunstroke."

"If it were a sunstroke you wouldn't be all that conscious anymore, Harry," the bushy-haired women pointed out dryly. "Come on, tell me what's wrong?"

"You don't need to know everything, Hermione. Trust me on this one."

"If it concerns the welfare of my best friend, then I do need to know!"

Harry's eyebrow twitched. He loved the woman like a sister, he really did, but sometimes she really could get on his last nerves. "Hermione, one day that insatiable curiosity of yours will get you into trouble that you can't get out of. Please just let it lie."

The bushy-haired woman sent him a narrow-eyed look, clearly promising that the conversation would be continued at a later time, but gave up for now. Instead she held her notebook out to Harry, pointing to a roughly-sketched outline of a creature. "These are the things that live underground."

"I thought you said you couldn't see them very well?" the green-eyed man muttered while examining the drawing.

"I couldn't. But from what I did see, and some simple logical guesswork, well, this is the conclusion. The creatures probably look something like this, or very close to this."

Imam had come closer and was now examining the drawing himself. He pointed to the head of the creature. "This hammer-shaped head with the horn. That must be what they use for echolocation. Destroy it and the creatures would be as blind as we are."

"Can't be that easy to break it. Those things must be made out of solid bone, otherwise they would break easily during fights." Harry shook his head, and let the notebook take a round so that all the survivors could see what they were up against. Paris, instead of handing the book to Riddick as he was supposed to do, simply gave it back to Harry and hurried up ahead again to walk with Johns and Fry and Shezza. Harry rolled his eyes, then slowed down until he and Riddick were walking side-by-side. "Here. Check it out."

Riddick stopped up and dropped the ropes of the makeshift sled, then accepted the notebook. His examination of the rough sketch was interrupted when Hermione walked over to them, gently taking the notebook back, and pointing to various parts of the drawing as she explained. "They have these two spindly legs that can grip and climb rock walls, and they probably use them to grip their prey as well. They have no hands from what I could figure out, but they do have a set of leathery wings, not unlike those of a bat. And with the head being so large and heavy, it means that they must have a long tail to balance it out. They can probably use said tail for defence or something, as well. These things seem to be perfectly adapted to living and hunting in the dark."

"You mentioned large whale-like skeletons, 'Mione," Harry said. "Could these critters be the ones to have killed off said whale-creatures?"

Hermione thought about it. "They could be, but that would imply that at some point or another there is night – or some form of covering darkness – on this planet. And with three suns, I just don't see how that is possible."

"Solar eclipse." Riddick stated as he picked up the reins of the sled. "All planets have a solar eclipse at one point or another."

"But... but…!" Hermione tried to protest. There were three suns! For a total solar eclipse to happen, then all three of said suns had to be positioned in a straight line, and then had to be blocked out by a larger planet. Something like that didn't, couldn't happen once a year! Could it? In the end she simply settled for a worried, "Oh dear!"

"And with our bloody luck the solar eclipse will happen whilst we are here." Harry grumbled as the three of them started walking again. "Wonderful. Simply wonderful. Say, you didn't explore that geologist-settlement much, did you, Hermione? There could be some clues there that can tell us when the solar eclipse will happen."

"No, we didn't have the time. We did discover a skiff, though, but I doubt that it will is large enough to take us all off this planet." Hermione shook her head, then started to hurry ahead to the rest of the group. "I'll tell the others to be wary of a possibly-approaching solar eclipse, and this time Johns can't brush me off about exploring the camp."

"A skiff won't take more than six people tops," Riddick commented, dark amusement in his deep voice. "Someone will be left behind."

Harry shuddered. He really didn't want to think about something like that, especially knowing that there could be a solar eclipse around the corner and exactly what came out during said eclipse. "Bloody hell."

Paris, who had been walking just ahead of them, now stopped and looked around the sunburnt wasteland they were traversing. "You know, if I owned Hell and this planet, I'd live in Hell and rent this place out."

The group had by now reached the canyon they had to pass through to get to the abandoned settlement. There were several of the earthen spires spread around in the minimal shade that the large rocks of the canyon provided, and as they passed the entire group swore they could hear excited clicking noises coming from below. Harry's hand automatically landed on one of his knives as they passed the spires, and he didn't relax until they were almost through the canyon. At this point their way out was halfway blocked by one of the large whale-skeletons, though there were certain openings that they could slip through, and Johns making several more with a few blasts from his fancy gun. Harry couldn't help but run his fingers gently over some of the bone as he passed underneath the skeleton, feeling the ridges and small but deep furrows left behind by numberless sharp teeth.

"Not good." The long-haired young man muttered. "Definitely not good."

"Not afraid of the dark, are you?" Riddick's voice came from just behind him.

"I'm not afraid of the dark. I'm afraid of what comes with the dark in this particular situation." Harry sent a narrow-eyed glare towards the convict, then calmly walked after the rest of the group, leaving the bigger man to follow and determinately ignoring the weird feeling in his gut which told him that Riddick was staring at his arse.

The group of survivors soon reached the abandoned camp, and headed straight towards the abandoned skiff. Fry had Johns and Riddick bring the power-cell inside so that she could do a sys-check, then ordered Johns and Paris to start examining the outside of the skiff and start patching it up. Imam and his two oldest charges were set to getting the moisture-recovering unit working again, while Ali and Jack were told to walk around and see what they could find. Shezza had found an old jeep, a solar-powered sand-cat, just around the corner from the skiff and eagerly attacked it in an attempt to make it work and to get her mind off of Zeke's death.

"What about you two?" Johns asked Harry and Hermione.

"I intend to explore the settlement," Hermione replied. "See if I can't figure out just how long it's been abandoned, and when that solar eclipse is to occur."

Harry stared thoughtfully at a heap of scrap metal, solar-powered batteries and other things. "I may be able to make a radio with some of those things."

Everyone stopped what they were doing, and turned to him with hopeful eyes.

"You could?" Shezza breathed.

"That's so cool!" Jack exclaimed happily.

"There is a good chance, yes, but I'm not a hundred percent sure. It won't be a powerful radio, though."

"Doesn't need to be powerful," Riddick spoke up from the shadows, making half the group jump in surprise. "It only has to reach the Sol-Track Shipping Lanes. Someone'll receive it, and by the time you're off this planet they will be there to pick you up."

_'Now, how the hell did a convict like him know something like that?'_ Fry mused suspiciously, sending a questioning glare towards the blond merc, but was ignored completely.

Johns sighed. "Right, lets get to work, people. Those of you without any specific tasks, spread out and help 'Mione figure out exactly what happened here."

-x-x-x-x-

Harry worked on the radio for the next couple of hours, occasionally having Jack and Ali help hold something, or search for something. Then he climbed up on the roof of the one building that had the highest spire in order to make an antennae. The cables and wires were connected to the antennae, then were threaded through the newly-made hole in the roof and into the building. Afterwards, Harry had Johns help him to carry the lumpy, heavy and very basic radio into the building and onto the table closest to the dangling wires.

"How's it going with the sys-check?" the green-eyed man inquired.

Johns twitched. "We… we need more power-cells. Five total to launch." The man's hand shook as he readjusted his cap.

"Four thirty-five kilo power-cells…" Harry shook his head. "Damn."

"Will need the sand-cat for that one." Johns twitched again as he headed towards the exit. "I'll see if Shezza's got anywhere with the damn thing."

Harry's eyes narrowed at the blond man's twitching and shaking hands, but didn't mention it. "Sure. I'll connect this, then we can try it out after everyone's gotten something to drink. Imam and his boys did a bang-up job with that moisture-recovering unit, huh?"

"Wha-? Oh, yeah." With that Johns exited the building.

Muttering to himself, the green-eyed man went back to trying to hook up the primitive radio to the equally-primitive antennae. "That's the last thing we need. A freakin' junkie! Next thing you know those damn underground-livin' critters will ask us over for crumpets and tea."

-x-x-x-x-

There you go, please tell me what you think.

As I already mentioned, this story will never be finished, but I thought it would do well here. Hopefully it wasn't too bad.

Thanks to:

hermione494, Shinigami's Shadow and SilverPantsSven, dm, Honor, The Sleeping Creature, koldy, ladylookslikeadude, Firehedgehog, lildevil425, Wizardshirosenshi and Von.


	7. HP & Pirates of the Caribbean 'slash'

**Disclaimer:** I own only the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Disney.

**Author****'s Note:** Found this lying on the computer one day, and decided to post it. Please enjoy and please review.

**Crossover:** Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

**Pairing:** Teeny, tiny hints of Jack/Harry

**Warning:** AU in the HP verse since this was written a loooooong time ago. And a bit AU in the POTC verse too.

**Rating:** PG-13

**One-shot # 7: ****He's A Pirate**

Harry jerked awake and looked around. He was in his office and in front of his desk stood Minerva, Albus, Severus, Hermione, Ron and Draco, all of them looking extremely worried for some reason.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked and stretched.

"Potter, when was the last time you slept in your bed?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Um… don't remember."

"Exactly, Harry!" Hermione shot into the conversation. "You need a long holiday."

"Yeah, mate. After you got this boring desk job we've hardly seen you; and when we do see you, you look like something the cat dragged in."

Harry glared at Ron. "Thanks for the description."

"Nothing to it." The red-head grinned.

"The point is Harry, that you need a long holiday as Miss Granger said," Albus smiled kindly. "And we've come here to make sure you go on this holiday and actually stay there for two months. Draco has agreed to let you borrow a nice little cabin that has been in his family for ages, and we've already checked in with your superior and made the necessary accommodations. So you see, you really have no choice but to go."

Harry groaned. "I can't, I have to finish filing these things." He mentioned to a high tower of papers sitting on the floor in a corner.

"I will do that," Hermione said. "Your things are packed and already at the cabin, all you have to do is get there yourself." She took out a pendant with a small, silver anchor attached to it. "Now go and have a good time and enjoy yourself. Oh, and do owl us every now and then."

She threw the pendant at him and Harry caught it instinctually. "But-" was all he managed to say before he felt the familiar tug behind his navel and was whisked away to gods knew where.

"You think he'll be alright all alone?" McGonagall asked.

"That's just it, professor," Draco grinned. "He needs time alone, and we need the Harry Potter we all love back. Last time he visited Hogwarts I found him actually listening with interest to what Binns had to say. He's worse than Granger was before she learned to relax!"

Hermione glared and hit him on the arm. "Shut it Malfoy!"

"Yeah, he reminds me of Percy," Ron said. "Now that's a scary thought. Two of them in the same family?" he, Hermione and Draco shuddered. Severus pulled a grimace, Minerva's lips thinned into a line, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled madly.

The war against Voldemort was over in the trio's seventh and final year of school. And obviously, the Light Side had won. After the celebrations Harry went out and got a boring desk job and led a normal life, and everything settled down finally. Hermione, Ron and Draco stayed at Hogwarts as teachers, and they watched with worry as their friend started to act more like Binns and Percy, and less like the adventurous boy they had all known at Hogwarts. Everyone had thought Harry would've become an auror, instead he was a clerk and was rearranging the Ministry files. Deep under the Ministry itself, in a huge dusty room was where he spent the last seven years. In the end the six of them had gotten together and devised this plan to get their old Harry back. All they could do now was hope that it would work.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry stumbled as he arrived and let go of the pendant. He looked around and gaped. He was standing on a long beach, the ocean was calm and in a soothing, light colour; the sun was setting, colouring the sky in the most beautiful of colours. To his left stood palms and palms, and straight on the edge between palm and sand stood a little house. The wind that was blowing was warm and calming.

He started towards the house and smiled when he saw the notice on the door.

'**Dearest Harry,**

**This is Ron speaking – or writing as the case might be. We really are sorry for doing this to you… actually we're not. **

Stop acting like an idiot Weasley, and shut up! Well, Potter, I hope you enjoy the luxury of my cabin. Compared to your standards it must be a palace, but never mind. I actually had no idea that the Malfoy's owned this thing before last month, and it needs some restoring. That's up to you. You fix my cabin, I let you stay there free. Good deal, no? 

_Oh, stop it you two! Harry, don't listen to those idiots, they're just two nut__-heads that need to get laid. _

_On to the important things. The house does need fixing. Draco's left money for you in the cookie jar, enough for you to fix the cabin for him. Lazy bugger. _

Oh, now, I resent that, Granger. I am a Malfoy, we don't do things like those!

**And I get laid plenty!**

_I'M THE ONE WRITING!! Ahem, there's a village about fifteen minutes walk from you. Just follow the path through the palms and you'll find it. Don't worry, it's something like Hogsmeade, and you'll find everything there. They even have a magical shop where you can order anything magical you need, and muggles know about wizards and witches so there's no need to hide your magic. And their library! Gods Harry, it is divided into magic and muggle as well. There's so much to read! Mostly about pirates and such- oh! Perhaps you'd like to know exactly where you are, huh?_

Wonderful Granger, you've been babbling all this time without telling him where the hell he is? Simply spiffing, I'm beginning to think that all that reading you do has fried your brain. Anyways, Potter, you're in the Caribbean! You know, those islands in the Mexico Gulf thingy, or wherever they are. Check it with the library, they should know exactly where you are, and-- Oh, shit, Grangers sending me one of THOSE looks. Better finish this off.

_Owl us now and then, and send a postcard!_

**Ron,** Draco _and Hermione_

_PS: Please don't be angry!!__' _

Harry shook his head and picked up the key that came with the letter. He unlocked the door and went inside.

To his immediate right there was a staircase leading up to the first floor. In front of him the combined living-dining room took up the whole ground floor. There were several shelves there filled with some of Harry's books, Harry's own sofa, coffee table and his favourite chair stood placed in the middle of the room. The dining table was placed right by the window looking out over the sea, and the kitchen was obviously brand new.

Another note from Hermione waited for him on the kitchen counter.

'_Draco did do something at least. He arranged for the kitchen, the electricity and the plumbing. It's quite like a normal house, I would've gladly lived here for the rest of my days._

_ Hermione :) __ '_

Harry grinned and went off to explore the next floor, on the way noting exactly what needed to be fixed. The stairs were first on his list, then came several of the walls and some of the floor as well. Hmm, enough to keep him occupied for a while.

The first floor consisted of the bathroom, two bedrooms and a storeroom. One of the bedrooms was obviously Harry's and Hedwig hooted from her perch. The snowy owl was now very old, so Harry had gotten a younger one – Oberon – to carry his letters, but Hedwig stayed with him no matter what. Oberon flew in through the open window and handed Hedwig one of the two mice he had caught. He hooted to Harry as well and started to devour his own.

Harry shook his head again in amusement and went downstairs into the living room where all his things were. By the sheer number of boxes he would've thought that Hermione and the others meant for him to move in here permanently. Grinning he went through the boxes and found out what was where. Apparently Dumbledore had packed his socks personally if the heavy wards on the sock-box were something to go by. Harry had to remove several traps while unpacking that one.

After finding his pyjamas, toothbrush and toothpaste, Harry went upstairs and got himself ready for bed. Tomorrow he would go to the village and see what they had there and what he would need to order. The last thought that went through his mind before he fell asleep was: _'I really need to make them do this for me more often.'_

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

_Harry looked around he was standing on a ship of all things. There was no one in sight except the sea. The ship was of an ebony colour, and the black sails made an impressive figure. Way up over the crows nest he could see the jolly roger waving in the wind. _

_Harry walked around the deck and up to the helm. Why was he here? More important, how did he get here, wherever here was? And one more thing: Why was this always happening to him of all people? _

_Suddenly two strong arms wrapped around him and someone nuzzled his neck. "Havin' a good time, luv?"_

_Harry replied before he could stop himself. "Indeed. Even better now that you are here."_

"_That goes without sayin'."_

_He laughed. "You're impossible." _

"_I know."_

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Harry suddenly sat up in his bed, still in the house that Draco had allowed him to use. He looked around to make sure it was only a dream. It had seemed so real. He shuddered and got up. The sun was rising and there was work to be done, and for once it wasn't filing away stupid boring reports.

He waved his wand as he entered the kitchen and a cup of coffee appeared on the counter. He slowly drank it while watching the sun rise and the ocean become lighter and lighter, and, in the end, the same transparent blue-green as yesterday. Once he was finished with his coffee he got dressed and started to put away his things, then he went over the house once again to see what he would need to fix it up. Sure, he could do with magic, but it wouldn't be as good then. And besides, he needed something to do while he was here.

The weather was warm and got warmer throughout the day. When Harry finally set off towards the village he transfigured a cap out of a pen before going outside. He was wearing light, white pants and a short-sleeved white shirt. He knew that compared to most people he was white as snow. Spending years in that dungeon that the Ministry called a File-Room would do that to a person. He was quite happy to be out of there, and as far away as he could get from papers upon papers with boring, badly-written reports from the 13th century.

The village was indeed like Hogsmeade except for the fact that wizards and witches did magic in the middle of the street in front of muggles without being attacked by the Ministry of Magic a second later. Most people stared at him as he walked through the town and he nodded politely to them all. Perhaps they were staring because of his pale-ness? Probably.

It didn't take long for him to get whatever he needed and then he set of homewards. People still stared and a child pointed, only to be reprimanded by his mother. Harry began to feel slightly uncomfortable and set up his pace thinking that once he was among the trees he would be free of the stares and the uncomfortable feeling. He was partly right. He did get rid of the stares, but the feeling that someone or something else watched him remained. Harry had long since learned to trust his instincts, but after he had started to work as a clerk the instincts had disappeared. It was a bit overwhelming to have them back in work as suddenly as they were now.

He shook his head and told himself to stop being paranoid. He dropped his load outside the house and got to work. First he took care of the stairs, a thing that could be done with magic. And, as Harry really had no experience with fixing stairs, he did just that. Then he attacked the floor, pulling up the ruined boards and carrying them outside, then carrying in new ones and replacing them. Under one of the floorboards he found something interesting. A gold medallion of Incan or Aztec design, the medallion itself being engraved with a sun and a skull in the middle of that again. It hung on an old chain and Harry wouldn't be surprised if it had been there ever since the house was built.

As he picked it up a wave of energy shot out of the thing and pushed Harry to the ground. He dropped it and stared in surprise at the thing. It was calling for something, that he knew, but what? Harry decided to put the thing a way for the moment, mysteries weren't his department anymore. He could send the medallion to Hogwarts and ask Dumbledore about it.

-x-x-x-x-

Finishing with the floor he sighed. That was enough work for today. He got up and made himself a small dinner and went outside to sit in the sand and watch over the ocean while eating it. He took the medallion with him to see if he couldn't figure something else out while eating.

Hedwig and Oberon landed by his side and hooted. Harry grinned and gave each of them bacon and bread. The two owls took it happily then flew off to eat in peace. Harry looked back to the sea. It was beautiful and calm and he really liked it. It called to him for some reason.

He started humming '_A Pirates Life For Me_' which he had heard at a ride in Disneyworld. Hermione had dragged him, Ron and Draco to the place and Harry had never regretted going.

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.__  
We pillage and plunder, we rifle and loot.  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.  
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot.  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. _

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.  
We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack.  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.  
__Maraud and embezzle and even highjack.  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho._

_Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.  
We kindle and char and inflame and ignite.__  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.  
We burn up the city, we're really a fright.  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. _

_We're rascals and scoundrels, we're villains and knaves.__  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.__  
We're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs.  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho. _

_We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do-well cads,  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.  
Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads,  
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.  
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me._

Just as he finished with the song, he saw something out to sea. It was a small boat and it was slowly floating towards him and the beach. There was no one in it, but Harry drew his wand just the same before wading out and dragging the boat up on the shore. He had been wrong when he first thought that there was no one in it, a man was lying on the floor of the boat. He was dressed in a dark green, dirty coat, a triangular hat, a dirty shirt, black pants, knee-high boots, had a sash around his waist and a red bandana kept the hair out of his eyes. Said hair was a dark brown and beads and charms were weaved into it. Coal rimmed the eyes, and the man's skin was golden from countless hours in the sun. He looked like a pirate, which he probably was. But there weren't supposed to be pirates in the 21st century.

Harry shook his head and managed to get the man out of the boat without using his wand. A compass fell out of his coat and Harry picked it up and pocketed it, then he levitated the unconscious man towards the house. Once inside he floated the man upstairs to the spare bedroom and with several flicks of his wand cleaned the man, dressed him in a pyjamas and cleaned his clothes which he put on the chair at the end of the bed.

Hedwig hooted at him once he got downstairs and Harry sighed. "I don't know who he is Hedwig, but I have a feeling he has something to do with this medallion." He stared at the thing and pulled out the old-fashioned compass. There was magic about this compass, he could feel it vibrating; there was also magic about the medallion, but that magic was Evil. Suddenly he noticed that no matter in what direction he moved the medallion, the compass-arrow followed and pointed towards it.

'_Now that's interesting.'_ He thought and moved the medallion again. He tried several things, like banishing the medallion to an unspecific location in the house then used the compass to find it again. He conjured a fork and tried to have the compass follow that, but it didn't help. It followed the medallion. _'That's very interesting.'_

-x-x-x-x-

When Jack Sparrow woke, the first thing that went through his mind was how nice the bed felt. That thought was then followed by the thought of where the whore was. And from there his day got weirder and weirder as he got to the conclusion that the last time he had gone to bed had been in that leaky little boat, and that there was no roof over him except the sky.

He sat up in the bed and looked around the room he was in. There was nothing on the walls, a few empty boxes lying around. It was painted in light colours and the window oversaw a long beach and palms and the rain that was falling. He warily got up and stared at what he was wearing. Some sort of undergarments or something. His clothes on the chair were clean – much to his dismay – and to his even greater shock the beads had been taken out of his hair and his hair had been washed. It now looked quite nice, or that was what presentable women would've said.

Jack quickly got dressed then headed out of the room. The house was nothing like he was used to, but right now he didn't pay it any mind. He headed towards the staircase but stopped when he heard a door open. Right at the bottom of the stairs the front door opened and in came a young man. He was dripping wet and dressed in – in Jack's opinion – quite fancy white clothes. Though these clothes were weird as well, the pants reached his shoes and the shirtsleeves were cut off by the elbow. A straw-hat sat on his head, but he took it off revealing inky black unruly hair.

"Hedwig!" the young man called and the voice calmed Jack a bit. His eyes widened when he saw a white bird come flying from the other room. "Hey girl, Oberon back yet?" the man asked as the bird settled on his outstretched arm. The bird shook her head. "Hmm, too bad. Ugh, poor blighter out in this weather. I swear it's raining cats and dogs!"

The young man went into the living room and Jack descended the stairs far enough so that he could see what was going on. His eyes landed on his compass and a very familiar medallion. The young man picked the medallion up and studied it.

"You know, Hedwig, this thing is really a mystery." The bird hooted. "Yeah, I know. I have never seen anything like it, but perhaps…" he walked over to a shelf filled with books and searched for the right one. "Aha, there you are! _'Curses That Befell Man Over the Years'_. Always a good read."

Jack's eyes widened as the other man pulled out a stick, waved it at himself and was completely dry again. Oh, he knew about wizards alright; one of them had enchanted his compass, but it was still a shock meeting one now. He watched as the wizard settled down in the couch and opened the book. He debated whether or not to reveal that he was awake, but then decided to do so. If the wizard had wanted him dead he wouldn't have helped him in the first place.

He stepped off the stairs and coughed politely. The wizard looked up and the most impossible green eyes met his. The young man smiled and stood up.

"Good to see you are awake!" he said. "What do you want to eat. I can whip up just about anything."

"I don't doubt tha'," Jack replied and stepped into the room.

The green eyes narrowed slightly before another smile broke out across the other man's face. "Indeed I could. I'm Harry Potter."

Jack shook the offered hand. "Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow to be precise."

Harry chuckled. "Quite the ship you arrived in, Captain."

"I'm in the market for a new one as it were." Jack watched with interest as Harry waved his wand again and a finished meal appeared on the table. He sat down and started to eat slowly as he hadn't eaten for a few days. Harry looked back to his book and the medallion. "Where am I?" Jack asked when he was done.

"Somewhere in the Caribbean, I haven't managed to figure out just where yet. The date's 4 of August year 2004."

"2004?!"

"Yes. What year did you think it was?"

"1670."

Harry stared at him. "I admit that complicates things. If what you say is true then that means that you have been dragged out of the past for some reason, and that for some reason I found you. The question is who, what and why."

Jack grinned, revealing three golden teeth. "You're taking this very calmly, mate."

"I'm used to weird things happening." The green eyes went to the medallion. "I wonder if this thing had something to do with it?"

"What'd'ya mean?" Jack stood up and went to inspect the gold.

"I found it just under the floorboards here, and when I touched it some sort of shockwave shot out of it. That was yesterday morning, and I found you sometimes in the afternoon the same day." Jack met the green eyes and was held captive. They were hypnotising, and he could feel them seeing through to his soul. "What do you know about it, Captain Sparrow?"

Jack found that he couldn't lie to Harry. Bloody magic-user! "The crew an' I had just sailed off to find Isla de Muerta. The legend says that the great treasure of Cortez lies there, an' as we are pirates ye can guess why we went after it. We found it then we sailed off again without takin' anythin' as there was no need. Then me first mate, Barbossa, wants to know the exact location of the treasure, and I tell 'im like the fool I am. There was a mutiny and I was marooned. Luckily that same island was used by rumrunners, and they gave me the little boat I arrived in. What I didn't tell the crew of me old ship, was the legend that the gold was cursed. And I hope it is as well. That's the shortened version."

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry for your loss, captain. I guess that this belongs to you then." He threw the medallion to Jack who caught it easily. "And now we have to figure out a way to get you home, or the whole timeline will be disturbed."

"How're we goin' to do that?"

"I think I have something about Time Travel in my books, so we'll read and read and read some more – actually, there won't be too much reading as I already have an idea, but I need to research it a bit more to know if it's completely safe and lasting. Until then you can stay here." Harry spread his arms indicating to the house. "Deal?"

"Deal." Jack smirked.

-x-x-x-x-

The next couple of days Jack spent watching Harry pour over his books. It all went over his head, but Harry seemed to know exactly what it meant. Jack also found himself introduced to two owls, Hedwig he had seen before, and a brown one called Oberon. The latter owl had attacked him one morning when he had come down the stairs, and Harry had had to throw a pillow at the bird to get him to stop.

One morning Harry – who was always the first one up – waited for him with good news. The device to take him home was finished. It looked like one of the numerous beads that Jack had put in his hair once again.

"This will take you home. Just call out the name of your ship and hold it between your fingers, you won't appear on your ship if that's what you mean, but at the same place where you left from. Which now means in a boat in the middle of the ocean." Harry explained patiently.

Jack nodded and twined the bead extra well into his hair as not to lose it. "Thank you Harry." with that he kissed the young and smaller man on the lips, jumped into the boat he had arrived in and yelled: "The Black Pearl!" and disappeared.

Harry was left standing there in shock. His hand went to his lips and he blinked. Hedwig's hoot brought him back to the present and he went inside shaking his head about crazy pirates, and being too long out in the sun.

-x-x-x-x-

There, what do you think?

Once again, I wish to draw your attention to the fact that this thing was written a long time ago – after book four Potter verse, and way before I even heard of a second and third POTC movie – so please excuse the mistakes, the people that shouldn't be alive and so forth.

Also, I think this is the little oneshot fic/idea that spawned _'Pirates and Wizards'_.

Thanks to:

Marauder Heir, Ariaeris, dm, Simpleinsanity, Toki Mirage, koldy, Fate, Lady-of-the-gray, lady firefox, Lemo, lildevil425, Abby Ebon, TheOneThatIsAddictedToHPfics, guaero lumen, SSC, Firehedgehog, green ninja93, ladylookslikeadude, Absentminded Dreamer 1310, The-Living-Shadow, Novus Ars, Violet Shadows, handadeath, Misplaced Angel, Rain Raider, Keitsune Han'ei, Ano-Hitori-Chichi, shadow lupus, Giardian Dimension, Zella, Pn-Chan, Kylip, Miss. Edith needs her tea., pichu10176, Wistful-Dreamer, Timdraco, Tyra Kaelar, Raika Katsuya,


	8. HP & Final Fantasy VII

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Square Enix.

**Author's Note:** A suggestion by a reviewer and playing FFVII:CC is more than enough to get the plot bunnies spawning.

**Crossover:** Harry Potter & Final Fantasy VII

**Pairing:** N/A

**Warnings:** AU in the FFVII-world concerning some facts and situations, and definitely AU in the HP-world from the end of the fourth book. And lots of artistic licence! Beware the artistic licence!

**Rating:** T

**One-shot #8: Those Who Fight Further**

"You were saying what, Headmaster?" Harry asked the old wizard, trying not to notice just how much the man's blue eyes were twinkling. He was getting used to the all-knowing air and twinkle about Dumbledore and, quite frankly, he was expecting the wizened old wizard to start acting like that Armstrong-character from that military anime _Fullmetal Alchemist_ that Dudley was so hung up on lately. Armstrong twinkled like crazy, too. And then he would throw off his clothes. Which was freaky.

'_I hope Dumbledore doesn't go that far…'_ Harry mused and sent the headmaster a suspicious look.

Dumbledore seemed not to have noticed the teen's thoughts – or simply pretended not to notice them – and instead went on speaking as if no one had ever asked a question. "This little beauty was invented by my good friend Nicholas Flamel and my own brother, Aberforth. They apparently got the idea while watching the muggle movie _The Matrix_ where people are asleep and dream as though it was real life and then they wake up to the real world, and they figured: why not take it one step further?"

Half the Order that was gathered in the kitchen of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place didn't understand half of what Dumbledore was saying, while the other half of the Order didn't even bother to try, they all just patiently waited for the point that was sure to come soon. Hopefully. Dumbledore had a tendency to take the long, scenic route when telling a story.

"So, what exactly are those three sofa-table things in my living room?" Sirius finally asked the question that all wanted an answer to.

"I'm glad you asked!" Dumbledore twinkled some more. "We all know that Voldemort - sorry, sorry, I won't say it again – that _he_ had decades more of experience than most people here, so my brother and Flamel came up with a revolutionary new way to bridge the gap and perhaps give young Harry here an advantage over the Dark Lord."

"That's a good thing, right?" Tonks said, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Indeed it is! Those three sofa-tables in your living room, Sirius, is just the thing that will allow young Mr Potter, Miss Granger and Mr Weasley to bridge the aforementioned gap. All they have to do is lie down and fall asleep, and their souls will be sent to another world or reality – Nicholas and Aberforth weren't really sure – where they can learn all they need to in order to defeat the Dark Lord."

Severus Snape frowned. "Sending their souls to another dimension or whatever… couldn't such a separation kill their bodies without the intake of food or water?"

"Not really, their bodies will stay here and accumulate all the knowledge and training that the three gain in the other worlds, so the bodies will change. And quite rapidly too since time is relative, and one year in the other reality is only a minute here. So, for example, if Miss Granger stayed there until she was 24, then her body would go through the same changes in only 24 minutes of our own time."

"What of old age, then?" Remus asked curiously. "If they grow old in the other reality, then they would grow old here, and everything would be lost anyway."

Dumbledore sighed a bit sadly, and his twinkling went down a few notches. "Unfortunately that's the only bad thing about this entire thing. As a precaution against just such an occurrence, Aberforth and Nicholas put in a safety feature. A safety feature that will automatically send the soul of the traveller back to his or her body after they reach a certain age. In the other world they will simply seem to die naturally, and in ours they will simply wake up after a night of rest and dreaming."

"But what if they're killed over there?" Sirius demanded, a note of worry in his voice.

"Then their souls will automatically be sent back here and they will wake up." Dumbledore replied with a small smile. "Do not worry, no matter what happens to them in the other world, they will simply wake up again. However, if their bodies in this world were to be killed during their time away, then they would die in both worlds, and I really mean die. So it is imperative for us to keep the bodies safe in the time it takes them to learn what they need."

"But why do children have to go? They're too young!" Mrs Weasley protested.

"Because as children they are the ones best suited for something like this due to the fact that their bodies haven't finished growing and changing yet. The changes they will go through will be much easier for them to bear, than if I or you went. We would probably die."

The Order members were clearly sceptical about it all, sharing worried looks between each other, and muttering about trying to find another solution, anything else but sending children off into another world alone.

"Since we've already established that Potter and his two cohorts are the ones that are going," Snape spoke up, breaking the mutterings, "then I assume that somehow or other you have a way of making sure that the three of them end up in relatively the same timeline and have a way to search each other out if they get separated?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Of course. Their souls may not end up in the same place – in fact, it is highly unlikely that they will – but their bonds of friendship will guide them to a certain place where it is most likely that they will have the chance to meet, almost like a magnet. Magic is a powerful and wondrous thing, is it not?"

"So, like, we'll have to be born and all that stuff again?" Ron asked, a bit confused.

"No, you will simply appear as you are in the place best suited for you to start making a new life, and to the people around you will not pay much attention."

"What about language and customs and such?" Hermione inquired. "What if they are totally different from our own?"

"I shall give you a locket with certain very useful spells put on it, amongst those a translation charm that will work until you have learned the language."

'_So, in essence, once we fall asleep we are more or less on our own apart from a charmed locket and the hopefully good will of the people that we might run into in the other world,'_ Harry summarised, raising an eyebrow. Did he really want to go through with this? Of course, the enormous upside was that he might actually for once learn something that would help fighting against Voldemort, and hopefully wouldn't have to muddle his way through it like any old fool. And it would also take him away from thoughts about the Triwizard Tournament and Cedric's death. But did he really wish to leave people behind for however many years it took? _'No,'_ he reminded himself. _'Not years. It will only seem like years for me, but here only minutes will have passed. I'll be back before the night's over, thinking it all a rather influential dream or something.'_

"It'll only be for one night," Ron said thoughtfully.

"We could learn so much," Hermione pointed out, but bit her lip in worry.

"Then let's go. We'll only be asleep anyway." Harry added.

The trio shared a look, and then they nodded to Dumbledore, signalling their agreement.

"Excellent," Dumbledore smiled.

"Oh, they're too young!" Mrs Weasley was crying into her husband's shoulder.

"Hecka cool!" Fred and George celebrated, dragging Tonks into a small jig.

"Do the Marauders proud," Sirius told Harry very seriously, only to yelp when Remus whacked him. "What was that for?!"

Remus scowled. "Don't be so irresponsible, Padfoot." The amber-eyed man turned to Harry. "Enjoy your new life, but do not forget the reason that you are there, Harry. Learn all that you can."

Snape stepped up to the group. "Don't waste this chance, Potter. There will not be a second one."

Harry, Ron and Hermione simply sat there in the kitchen, easily bearing all the well-wishes and advice that the Order members were throwing on them, and sinking deep into their own, private thoughts. One thing was certain though; this was going to be one hell of an adventure.

-x-x-x-x-

It was somewhat embarrassing having to lay down naked on a cool but soft table which looked like something from a muggle sci-fi movie, Harry thought, trying to keep his flush down. Ron was getting settled at the other table, and once the two of them were comfortable, Sirius and Remus came over with a pair of blankets and covered them.

"I still don't see why we have to stay here naked," Ron grumbled as he was covered. "It's totally embarrassing, and how are we supposed to fall asleep knowing that Hermione is naked too?"

"Watch it, Ron; you're turning into a pervert!" Sirius grinned.

"Sush, Sirius," Remus reprimanded, though he was smiling as well. "You need to be naked because your body is going to go through some rather spectacular changes in a very short period of time, and any and all clothes you wore would've ripped."

"So you would've ended up naked anyway," Sirius added, still grinning like a maniac. "Right, you two completely settled in? Good, then close your eyes so that Hermione and Mrs Weasley can come in."

Harry and Ron did as told, both thinking of something else entirely to keep their curiosity from taking over. They respected Hermione too much to gawk and ogle her naked body, no matter how much of a good idea their teenage bodies thought it was. Hermione, they could hear, walked very quickly to the third and last table, and just as quickly lay down. Mrs Weasley muttered and constantly sent suspicious looks to the two boys in the room as she followed the bushy-haired girl, and then covered her up.

"Okay, you two can open your eyes," Hermione said quietly. They didn't have to speak loudly at all since the tables were placed so that the their heads were very close together.

Harry opened his eyes and sighed. "Well, we can still get out of this if we wish. It's not too late."

Ron grumbled. "No way, this is totally cool. We can do whatever we wish in this world, and my mother will never know!"

Hermione sighed. "Just remember why we're there in the first place, Ron."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Their conversation was cut off as Dumbledore knocked on the door and then entered, before closing the door after himself. He smiled at the three kids and placed himself at the very middle of the tables so that all three could see him if they craned their heads back a bit. He carefully placed a golden, rather unremarkable-looking charm around their necks, each one a little bit different. Harry's was a plain, thin chain without any decoration at all. Hermione's held a small locket, containing the picture of her parents on one side and the trio on the other. Ron's was decorated with a small dragon-like creature with glowing amber eyes, fearsome despite its miniature size.

"There," Dumbledore said with a proud smile. "These necklaces represent yourself, your goals and thoughts and dreams and hopes have all helped to make these special things. Now, you will have to fall asleep on your own since a potion or spell might interfere with the magic Nicholas and Aberforth have woven into the sofa-tables. Do not worry about anything; we will protect you while you're asleep. Try to enjoy yourselves, and we'll see each other when you wake up again."

With that, the great wizard left the room and turned off the lights too. The trio sighed in the darkness, an unspoken agreement between them not to talk and simply wait for sleep to come to them. Harry listened as first Hermione's and then Ron's breathing slowed down into that of sleep, and sighed again, staring out into the darkness and hoping that sleep would come quickly for him too.

He was still staring at the ceiling ten minutes later.

'_Okay, this is getting silly.'_ The green-eyed teen grumbled to himself, but didn't move. _'Counting sheep should help. One… two… three… four… five…'_

It didn't help much actually, so Harry decided to name the sheep he had counted and also come up with a history for each and every one. And right in the middle of figuring out why Bella the white sheep loved Edward the black sheep and not Jacob the brown one, Harry fell asleep and dreamed.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry had appeared in the middle of a forest of all things. Totally naked. And it was hot. And he had no bloody idea in which direction he was supposed to be walking, nor in which direction he was actually travelling in either. The trees were thick and tall, and distorted the sunlight, so Harry really had no idea what was west and what was east. It was very annoying, so finally, after walking around for hours, twitching every time he tread on a needle or something sharp, Harry huffed and sat down right where he was, pouting slightly.

'_Bloody fine lot of things I'm going to get done,'_ he griped to himself. _'I'll die of thirst and starvation before I ever get out of this forest. Voldemort will probably laugh himself to death if he ever hears about all this. Malfoy too.'_

The very thought was enough to make him get up again and walk for another long while.

The green-eyed teen wasn't really sure just how long he was walking, or if he was walking in a straight line. For all he knew, he could be walking around in circles, and wouldn't that be a total bugger. The only thought that kept him going at that point was the way that Voldemort, Malfoy and all the other Death Eaters would laugh themselves silly if they saw him now – and that was a powerful incentive to simply keep walking.

'_Ooooh, I'm soooo going to torture Voldemort for this,'_ Harry grumbled and cursed, entertaining himself with the thought. Perhaps this world didn't have any humans after all? Perhaps Dumbledore's brother – a noted crackpot, at that – had done a mistake. _'I'm going to have a few words with Dumbledore too. And I'm going to kick Snape where the sun doesn't shine, just for – ahem – __**kicks**__.'_

Making a list of the people you wanted revenge on and also figuring out said revenge in minute detail was very thought-consuming, and Harry barely had the presence of mind to avoid the obvious trees. So therefore it wasn't such a surprise that he stumbled over a root, fell, rolled down a small hill, and then landed harshly on the banks of a river.

_Ouch_ groaned Harry.

_Crunch_ went Harry's glasses as he landed on them.

_Scream _came from the woman that stood on the other side of the bank.

"Who's attacking you!?" roared the woman's husband as he appeared through the trees, waving an axe around.

Harry wisely decided to stay still, and pretend that he was dead or unconscious. Hey, it worked for animals, why not for him too, right?

"Is it some kind of beast?" asked the man.

There came a whack and a yelp. "Don't be silly," said the woman, moving closer to the edge of the river so that she could better see what lay on the opposite bank. "It's a young boy. Oh, poor thing, just look at him! He's completely naked!"

'_Yes, and very well aware of that fact.'_ Harry thought to himself.

"Look at the soles of his feet," the man said. "He must've walked for days for them to be like that."

'_Close enough.'_

"And he's thin as a stick. He must be malnourished and dehydrated." The woman sounded very worried.

There was a short silence before the man spoke up again. "Can we keep him?"

"What?!"

"Well, look at him! He looks as though he ran away from home, and it doesn't seem like he was treated very well there in the first place." The man argued. "Besides, haven't you always said that you wanted a son?"

Harry wondered if this was the good time to drag up his best puppy-dog look, but stayed silent. This was going better than he had expected – probably helped along largely by magic, but still. And as for taking advantage of the couple, well, he wasn't going to stay with them for very long, just long enough. That is, if they took him in at all.

'_Besides, this is just a dream. Nothing will happen here that will affect me in the real world,'_ the green-eyed teen thought, secure in this knowledge.

"But we cannot just take in random children off the street!" the woman protested.

"We aren't taking him off the street, but out of the woods."

"He's probably a delinquent!"

"Then this is our chance to reform him."

"..."

"..."

The woman sighed and gave up. "Alright, but only if he so wishes it."

"Great!"

"Now go over there and get the poor boy. We're going home."

And that was how Harry ended up with the Fair couple.

-x-x-x-x-

A conveniently faked bout of amnesia and very good acting – perfected over the years with the Dursley's and while trying to lie to Snape and Dumbledore – was more or less all it took for Harry to be accepted into the home and heart of the Fair couple. They even gave him a new name – Zack Fair – and both they and the rest of the small village of Gongaga were very kind and welcoming, trying their best to help. And the more time Harry spent with them, the more he wanted to tell them the truth about himself, but he managed to hold back.

One night, about six months after ending up in Gongaga, Harry dreamt about Ron and Hermione, and something inside him that ticked and whirred and kept time – his internal clock so to speak – told him that it was time to head out to meet his friends, wherever they were. Keeping in mind what the three of them had actually set out to do, Harry inquired with the Fair couple if there was somewhere he could learn to fight, and to fight well.

"Why ever would you want to learn how to fight, Zack?" Mrs Fair asked him curiously, the spoon with soup halfway to her mouth.

"So that I will never lose my memories again," Harry replied honestly, silently adding that it wouldn't hurt if he also managed to learn enough to kick Voldemort's arse into the next ice age.

"It is a valid point," Mr Fair said, nodding to himself. "And the best place to learn such skills would be if you managed to join SOLDIER – the security people connected with the Shinra Electric Company. They're based in the city of Midgar. We do not have a helicopter of any sort in these parts, so it would be about two weeks' journey on foot to Costa del Sol, from where you can get a ferry to take you across the inland sea."

"SOLDIER, huh?" Harry muttered thoughtfully.

"It is not easy," Mrs Fair said seriously. "They are very picky about who is admitted, and the training is harder than any other regime – except, perhaps, in Wutai. So think well and hard about this, Zack, before you make your decision."

Mr Fair snorted. "You wouldn't be allowed to leave right away, anyway. There are monsters on the way to Costa del Sol, you know, and I wouldn't let you leave here until you could defend yourself from those creatures easily enough."

"When do we start?" the green-eyed teen grinned.

And thus began some gruelling weeks of harsh training under Mr Fair and some of the other men in the village. It appeared like most of them knew how to defend themselves good enough for some of the most common monsters to be found around villages and roads leading to and from them, and these men were eager to teach everyone else too. Harry's bruises' bruises had bruises, and he felt like a walking, talking, human rainbow. But he did learn a lot – that is, when he wasn't wondering if he would live to see the next day. He learned how to fall properly to minimize damage, and he learned how to swing a sword or a pole weapon without chopping off one of his own body parts. By the end of the training he could actually hit a monster before running away, instead of just running away and hoping for the best.

"Still wish to go to Midgar and join their SOLDIER program?" Mr Fair asked one day after having cheerfully beaten Harry into a bruised pulp of unidentifiable goo on the ground.

Harry twitched and barely managed to do the universal thumbs-up with one hand. He was afraid that if he nodded or tried to speak, his dinner would end up on the ground.

"Stubborn little puppy, aren't you, Zack?"

'_Little puppy?'_ Harry twitched. So what if he wasn't as good as Mr Fair in sword-fighting and such, but did the guy have to call him a puppy and rub it into his face?! He could practically feel his confidence disappearing into thin air. He could see it now: Malfoy holding a chibi-Harry in a puppy-beanie and cuddling him while proclaiming that he would feed him, and walk him, and take care of him, and that his name henceforth would be Scorpius, and that they would be the _bestest_ friends in the _entire_ world.

'_Like hell!'_ the green-eyed teen roared to himself, the anger giving him new strength to go on, and he staggered to his feet. Barely managing to lift the sword off the ground with two hands, Harry levelled it at Mr Fair, green eyes narrowed in focus. He called up on his magic – which he hadn't used since appearing in this world to keep people from thinking him an excellent lab rat experiment – and made it rush through his veins and muscles, taking away the aches and the heavy feeling of being tired, at least for a little while. His stance visibly became lighter and the sword tip rose a few more inches too.

Mr Fair observed this easily, and one of his eyebrows rose. It seemed as though Zack had quite a few tricks up his sleeves. Without further ado Mr Fair attacked the black-haired teen, trying to knock those ever-present glasses away, knowing that Zack would be practically blind as a bat without them. They weren't even very good glasses at that, a bit off compared to the young teen's sight. Hopefully Zack could get some new ones in Midgar, or – if he became a SOLDIER – the mako injection would probably take care of it.

Harry defended against the attacks coming his way, following the man's usual sequence of attacks. Mr Fair had a pretty predicable attack sequence, but the man was simply far too fast for Harry to stop defending and attacking on his own. However, that stopped today. The green-eyed teen was thoroughly pissed off from getting all the shit beaten out of him, and he was determined to finish this and move on from Gongaga. Oh, he liked it here and he liked the Fair couple, but his internal clock or magic or whatever you wanted to call it, was telling him that it was high time to get going to Midgar.

His determination and the magic that was bubbling right underneath the surface, was enough to help the green-eyed teen gain the speed he needed to defend himself against Mr Fair's attacks, and also manage to get in an attack of his own. The single attack came as a huge surprise for the older man, this being the first time that Harry managed to attack him in turn instead of just defending, and that very surprise was what allowed Harry to actually get in close and place his sword against Mr Fair's neck, a small cut appearing on the man's neck.

Mr Fair stood there and blinked for a few seconds, then grinned down at the young teen. "Little puppy," he said, "you are now ready to travel to Midgar."

"Great!" Harry grinned right back, lowered his blade and promptly fell over backwards as his strength left him totally and he was out like a light.

-x-x-x-x-

The journey to Midgar took about as long as Mr Fair said. And the two weeks it took to get there, Harry used to further intensify his skills with the blade. The residents of Gongaga had given him a little money for the trip, but it wasn't enough to get him to the Gold Saucer, let alone to Costa del Sol and across the sea to Midgar. However, in this world the monsters that one fought brought benefits when they fell over dead, giving up gil, healing potions of various strengths and for various ailments, and most of the more common creatures were also eatable, so it all added up. Harry saved the gil and the potions, and ate the flesh, and thusly saved and gained a lot of money for the rather expensive fee to get ferried to the opposite shore – a journey that took about a day and a half – and then the trip from the shore to the city of Midgar.

The land around the enormous city was barren and dry, like a desert where the sand dunes had travelled on because it was too inhospitable even for them. The city itself was one of the weirdest things that Harry had ever seen. On ground level the poor people had created their own little city, their houses ramshackle and made out any old thing that laid around and was thrown down from above the plate, and they were usually shabby dressed and very much bore the evidence of their living situation.

And then there was the enormous plate. Standing 20 metres high above everyone's heads, held up by and enormous and thick central pillar in the middle and smaller ones supporting it throughout, it was an impressive piece of engineering. And what was even more was that _on_ the plate dwelling houses of the middleclass and the rich were situated, bars, restaurants and everything else that was needed was built there as well. And right smack dab in the middle of the plate, right above the central pillar, stood the Shinra headquarters, 70 floors high and towering over everything else.

'_The division into sectors is a bit annoying though,' _Harry sighed to himself as he tried to navigate said sectors and get to Sector 0 which was the location of the Shinra Company building. He'd been lucky and gotten to Midgar right in time for the acceptance of new recruits that happened every six months, and there was no way he was going to wait another six months before joining.

When he did get to the Shinra Company building and to the recruit registration, the SOLDIER 3rd Class behind the desk looked him up and down and nearly didn't let Harry join due to his glasses. He had to go through a small mock-fight against a private, and at that moment Harry was very glad that Mr Fair and the other men of Gongaga village had put him through such tough training, because it was mostly due to that and to some incredible luck that he managed to pass the test and become an official Shinra recruit.

'_Yes!'_ cheered Harry as he got the recruit uniform and was assigned to one of the barracks.

Less than a week later, the green-eyed teen was singing a different tune. The other recruits and the privates and practically everyone else thought that just because he had glasses that he was the perfect scapegoat, torture victim and whatever else they could come up with at the time, thusly putting Harry through complete hell. Even his happily saved money wasn't much compared to the prices in Midgar, and most of them went into paying for the equipment (i.e. potions and notebooks and such) needed that month for training and school, and the rest needed to be saved until next month seeing as their pay as recruits was pathetically small.

And he hadn't even touched on the slop that they called food, the toughest training regime Harry had ever heard of, and not to mention the teachers that they were assigned. One teacher hated you for breathing, another hated you for blinking, a third thought everyone were dunderheads, a fourth insulted them for no apparent reason, a fifth kicked their arses royally and regularly each and every day during combat training, and the list went on and on. It was like Snape's personality had been parted, and each person had gotten one or two parts of it. It was pure torture.

'_And I thought the training in Gongaga was bad...' _Harry complained to himself as yet another class of physical training started. They were running today too. Uphill. With 20 pound rucksacks on their backs. In the rain which also provided the infernal mud.

Harry wanted to kill someone.

However, instead of quitting like so many others, or being thrown out for being too lazy or too eager to get into fights with other students, Harry grit his teeth and did what he could: simply taking it all one day at the time, focusing on surviving. The training might be hell, but he knew that it would yield results, and he was sure that Voldemort wouldn't expect having a sword swung at him.

The days and weeks and months melded together into gruelling training and boring classes and annoying duties, and suddenly the exams were upon them. The exams that determined whether or not one would be able to join the SOLDIER ranks as a lowly private, or if one had to go through the training all over again or, in worst case scenarios, drop out completely.

The green-eyed teen going under the alias of Zack Fair, was shocked speechless when he actually managed to pass the exams, and pass them with flying colours.

'_I suppose all those hours of torture were good for something at least,' _he thought to himself, having splurged on a meal in a cheap little restaurant as a reward for himself. His pay as a private should be slightly better than as a recruit, and he could splurge a bit more often, but he would still have to be careful with his money. _'It appears that using Hermione's way of studying actually does pay off. Here's to you Ron and Hermione,'_ he thought lifting a glass of juice slightly in a small salute. _'Wherever you may be I hope you are happy, and that we meet up soon enough.'_

-x-x-x-x-

Despite what Harry had thought and hoped for, he wasn't injected with mako right off the bat after graduating from recruit to SOLDIER private. Nor did the training get any easier, in fact it only got worse – theoretical classes (like learning the Wutai language and other languages, politics and tactics) were added as were several hours of training and much less sleep than before. The other privates wasted no time in joining the established fan-clubs of either of the three SOLDIERs that held the 1st Class rank, and oh-ed and aw-ed whenever there was even a slight rumour of one of them being in the vicinity, and usually acted like total fangirls for the rest of the day – which was thoroughly annoying, because whenever that happened (and it happened alarmingly often), their drill sergeants and teachers only heaped more work on the entire group as punishment.

"Will you guys stop being such idiots?!" Harry growled one day as his bunk mates were going crazy over having seen a lock of SOLDIER 1st Class Sephiroth's signature long silver hair disappear around a corner. Gods, they acted as though this was all a game or something!

"Shut it, four-eyes," Nomura – the biggest bully of their year – growled right back. "You're simply too stupid to understand the implications of this situation. If one of us privates – the lowest of the low apart from you, of course – were allowed to catch a glimpse of one of the SOLDIERs 1st Class, then it means that they consciously _allowed_ us to see them, which means that they're keeping an eye on us and are picking out their favourites so that they know whom to train once we attain the rank of 3rd Class."

Most of the others around the table and within hearing distance, nodded in complete agreement at this speech.

Harry blinked and stared at them, his spoon half-way to his mouth.

He blinked and stared some more.

Another blink.

'_And these are the people who want to become SOLDIER and defend the country?!'_ the green-eyed teen thought, completely shocked at the stupidity of some people. Instead of commenting on this, he sighed and stood up from the table, having suddenly lost his appetite. "Right, uh-huh, if you want to delude yourself I won't stop you." He said dryly to Nomura and the rest as he picked up his tray, and then walked away – stopping only to deposit the uneaten food and return the tray to its proper place.

'_Good god, I'm surrounded by idiots.'_ He grumbled to himself as he headed down the corridor and back towards the barracks. If the others wanted to act like children and moon over the SOLDIERs of 1st Class then let them, he – on the other hand – needed to study some more, there was a test in language class tomorrow, and he didn't want to fail it.

He had no idea that a SOLDIER 1st Class had, in fact, been present in the mess hall that day, and had heard everything that had transpired, being greatly amused by it. Harry also had no idea that from that moment on, he was kept under watch by the very same SOLDIER, the high-ranking individual watching him through training and through classes, occasionally making friendly suggestions to the drill sergeants and teachers and making classes doubly difficult to test the green-eyed teen.

Harry just wondered when the hell that the teachers were suddenly putting them through again, was going to be over. He had just been getting used to the current workload, and now they increased it!

"Sadistic bastards," he muttered as he dragged himself in a random direction, hoping that there would be either a bed or a shower at the other end.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry was 18 years old and had just become a 3rd Class SOLDIER when he finally met a familiar face. He'd been chuckling over Nomura's shocked face when the lists went up, and the man realised that he hadn't managed to obtain the rank of 3rd Class but that Harry – the one who'd been teased and tortured by most of the entire unit – was one of those who did go on.

It was right in the middle of Harry's little mental victory dance that he bumped into someone, sending them both to the ground. Groaning and rubbing his aching buttocks, Harry's eyebrow twitched upon hearing the swearwords and curses that came from the other person, especially at those curses and swears that flew Harry's way. The black-haired teen was just about to jump up and give the other person a good talking to – and, if necessary, a good beating too – when he spotted the familiar red hair and face of one Ronald Bilius Weasley.

Ron had also taken that particular moment to realise exactly who he was heaping curses upon, and sat there gaping like a fish for a few seconds, before he jumped up and pointed at Harry. "_You_!"

Harry got to his feet too, and pointed as well. "You too!"

The two of them stared at each other, taking in all the changes that had happened in the three years they'd been apart, and then they grinned at each other and laughed before actually sharing a hug. It had been so long since they'd seen each other or heard from the other, that right then they didn't care at all about how two males hugging could be taken. Not only that, but it gave them the chance to whisper their current aliases to each other without anyone else being the wiser.

"I haven't seen ya in ages, yo!" Ron exclaimed once he retreated, the grin still on his face.

"I could say the same thing to you, Reno." Harry grinned right back, and then looked at the other male that had been accompanying Ron. The man was broad shouldered and totally bald, though he did have the hint of a small goatee. Both he and Ron were dressed in black suits with white shirts, and both had sunglasses sticking out of a pocket. "Man! I can't believe that you've joined the Turks of all things, Reno."

"And ya actually surviving the SOLDIER training and making it up to 3rd Class is a shock as well, yo." Ron commented, his grin gaining a cocky twitch. Then he turned to the bald man, and introduced him. "Rude, this is an old friend of mine Zack Fair. Zack, this is my partner in crime, Rude."

Harry grinned and shook hands with Rude, who seemed a bit uncomfortable. "It is nice to meet you."

"You too," Rude replied, nodding a bit. "Reno, we need to get going."

Ron then spoke up again. "Yo, I'm sorry, Zack, but we'll have to catch up at a later date. We've got a meeting we need to get to."

"Sure. I now know where to find you, so it's all good." The green-eyed teen replied, and then watched the two black-clad Turks walk off down the corridor and around a corner. He sighed and a worried look entered his eyes. Ron was getting excellent training with the Turks, and it was no wonder that someone of the redhead's tactical mind had been scouted by that particular group, but Harry was also a bit worried what the work would do to the redhead.

'_Then again, years and training will have changed all of us before everything is done.'_ He mused and started walking in his original direction, and towards his own destination. _'Now, if we could only find Hermione…'_

-x-x-x-x-

It wasn't long after the meeting with Ron that the SOLDIER 1st Class who had been carefully monitoring Harry's progress, finally decided it was time to approach the green-eyed, spectacled teen. This meeting was going to change the rest of Harry's life.

However, Harry wasn't aware of this quite yet. He was in one of the training rooms dedicated to weapons, and was drooling over a large buster sword. Actually, it looked a bit like a piece of scrap metal, but the sheer size and power of it was highly impressive to Harry despite its simple appearance.

'_Too bad I won't be able to lift it,'_ Harry sighed to himself. He may be a heck of a lot stronger than before, but there was no way he could swing something like the buster sword around without liberal help from mako-enhancement. Which he didn't have. Mako was injected in the most promising SOLDEIRs when they reached the 2nd Class rank. Tryouts were held along with several long tests, but no one ever knew when they were to be held. They were usually announced only a day before so that the lazy people didn't have time to read up or train a bit extra just to advance in rank, and then go back to being lazy again.

"Quite an impressive sword, is it not?"

Harry had just sighed and managed to drag himself from drooli- ahem, _looking_ at the buster sword, when the voice behind him startled him so much that all his training finally kicked in and he dropped into a fighting stance, grabbing the closest weapon out of instinct.

The closest weapon happened to be the buster sword.

An attempt which didn't really end up well since the only movement that the sword made was to fall over and on top of Harry, flattening the poor green-eyed teen and knocking the wind out of him. He'd barely managed to stay standing, and _damn_ was the sword heavy!

The other person in the room watched in amusement as Harry desperately struggled to push the sword back to lean against the wall. As soon as Harry had managed to get it to lean against the wall, it would overbalance and start falling to one side and the entire project would happen all over again. It wasn't surprising really since Harry didn't have the strength to lift the sword off the ground.

Finally taking pity on the struggling teen, the SOLDIER walked over and easily lifted the sword and put it back to lean neatly against the wall. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and then turned to thank the person who had helped him, only to blink in surprise. Everyone knew who this man was, from his shoulder-long black hair to his stern face to his black 1st Class uniform.

Harry was staring right at Angeal Hewley, and he was hard pressed not to start drooling again – this time from lack of brain activity that went past "Holy shit! It's AGEAL HEWLEY! SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

"You have good reflexes."

"Th-thank you, sir," Harry managed to stutter out, and he was proud that he didn't squeal like a fangirl. He may not act like Nomura and the other fanclub-members did, but he was only human and he couldn't help but be in total awe of the three SOLDIERs 1st Class.

Angeal smiled with barely a twitch of his lips. "I have kept an eye at you, Mr Fair. You show great promise."

The only thing Harry could think at that point was that the SOLDIER 1st Class was dangerously on his way to becoming a freaky stalker. However, he had a feeling that it wouldn't be appreciated if he said it, so he kept his mouth shut and only stared. A voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his adopted father told Harry that he looked like a puppy that stared in awe and worship at its owner.

Harry tried to ignore it no matter how true it may be.

"Are you interested in some extra training?" asked the older man.

The wide-eyed teen could only nod wildly and hope that his head didn't fall off until he got his point through.

Angeal simply chuckled. "Excellent. I shall see you here tomorrow morning at five o'clock, then." With a friendly pat to Harry's shoulder – which nearly sent Harry to his knees – Angeal left the room.

The Boy-Who-Lived stood there for another ten minutes before his brain processed what had just happened. His face lighting up with a wide grin, Harry couldn't keep himself from jumping around a bit in an odd victory dance. "HELL YEAH!!!!"

-x-x-x-x-

And that was how Zack Fair became the apprentice to Angeal Hewley. It was met with uproar from those that had been recruits and privates with Harry and who had never thought that the green-eyed male would get anywhere. And though Harry was tempted to rub it in their faces, he didn't. He was usually far too exhausted from training with Angeal to do anything but go to bed. A normal human that trained with a mako-enhanced SOLDIER was at a distinct disadvantage no matter how much said SOLDIER held back.

'_But it's really good training. I have learned more in two weeks than in my three years here.'_ Harry groaned into his pillow, feeling like every bone in his body was broken, and trying to look at the bright side of things.

It didn't take long for Harry and Angeal to actually become rather good friends despite their differences in age and rank. Angeal truly put Harry through his paces, always had a trick up his sleeve to surprise Harry with and usually beat the crap out of the teen. However, it really did give results as Harry noticed those times that Angeal was off on a mission and he had to train with the other SOLDIERs 3rd Class. Harry now had the advantage over most of them, and their hits didn't feel as painful as they had before he'd started training with Angeal. All in all, Harry didn't regret his apprenticeship at all.

And through Angeal he also met the other two SOLDIERs of 1st Class, Sephiroth and Genesis. Though the awe and worship of the two was inevitable, Harry quickly snapped out of it when he remembered what he felt back in the wizarding world when people worshiped him. He also was far too active a person to simply stand there and gaze at them like a lovesick fool.

Sephiroth may be a rather quiet individual, but he was a surprisingly nice person once you saw past the Ice-King-act. Genesis, however, Harry really couldn't understand all that well no matter how much he tried. The man went around dressed in red leather – not that Sephiroth was much better seeing as he walked around in black leather, but at least he didn't seem to actively make himself a moving target – and kept on reciting quotes from the play _Loveless_. Which got very boring and annoying after a while. Harry tried to stay away from Genesis as much as he could.

He occasionally sat with the three SOLDIERs, and listened as they discussed everything between heaven and earth. He learned a lot from that. It was a great difference between hearing a teacher talk about theoretical things and then hearing the same things described by someone who had actually lived through it out on the field. After a while Angeal made an effort to drag Harry into their discussions, and when Harry first got it into his head that the three SOLDIERs of higher rank wouldn't shoot him for forgetting to call them 'sir' or for asking them question after question, well, he was unstoppable.

"You have come far since we started training, Zack," Angeal said one day after their workout, sounding quite serious. "However, you cannot advance much further as you are. Your body cannot take it."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. He was still panting after the workout, almost desperately drinking water from his bottle.

"If we continue at this intensity, your body will terminate rather than get better. There is one solution to this, though."

"Mako-injection." Harry realized at once. Had he really gotten to that point already? It seemed like hardly any time had passed since Angeal had started training him.

Angeal nodded. "It is not easy to get a mako-injection. It hurts like hell, and it might even kill you if your body isn't compatible." He was obviously speaking from experience. "You do not have to do it, Zack. No one will look down on you for that."

Harry sighed and leaned back against the wall of their training room. "I don't know... do you think I'm ready? I don't feel ready for something like that."

"The fact that you don't think you are ready leads me to believe that you are more ready now than any other time." The older man stood up and easily picked up his buster sword with one hand, fastening the weapon to its holster on his back. "Think about it, Zack."

And Harry did think. He asked around the other mako-enhanced SOLDIERs what they had gone through and if it was worth it. He sought out the library and read up all he could on mako and mako-enhancement and what to expect. He even managed to get a hold of Ron and discuss things with him. All in all there were more pros than cons to getting a mako-injection, but Harry's biggest worry what the mako would do to the magic already within him.

In the end, Harry decided to go for it. Angeal helped him to set up an appointment with Professor Hojo – boy, that man was freaky as hell – and one of the dark, windowless rooms was prepared for him. Harry's senses were going to be highly enhanced when he woke up (if he woke up, that is), and a dark room was best for him to get used to his new senses. Otherwise he would just end up with the migrane of the century. As it was, he was going to have a killer headache which was only marginally better.

Before his appointment Harry locked himself in his private room – being apprenticed to Angeal really was useful! – and then proceeded to cast all the spells he knew over and over and over again until his magical core was nearly depleted. Harry hoped that this would it easier for the mako and his magic to 'get along'.

"You can still back out," Angeal told him as they met up in the room that had been prepared for Harry. The bed he was going to lie down on had thick straps that were going to tie him down and make sure he didn't hurt himself.

"Nah," Harry replied, trying to give one of his usual grins, though he suspected that he didn't succeed all that much. "I've come so far, haven't I? I might as well go all the way now."

"Alright. I will come when you wake up again."

The possibility that Harry may never wake up again went unspoken, but it hung in the air around them like a heavy blanket.

Harry nervously walked into the room and sat down on the bed. He had to take a few deep breaths to keep himself calm and not run out of the room screaming like a girl, before he removed his shoes and lay down and allowed the assistants to strap him in firmly. The straps were numerous, binding his ankles, knees, waist, chest, wrists, elbows, neck and his forehead. Professor Hojo came into the room with an assistant pushing a small table in behind him upon which were several bottles of glowing mako and several syringes already filled with the green liquid.

"Lets us do this." Professor Hojo took up one of the needles and pushed some of the liquid out of it, making sure that there were no air bubbles that could get into Harry's blood.

Harry watched nervously as the sadistic-looking man approached him. He barely felt a small prick of pain when Hojo stuck the needle into his arm. He was sure something was supposed to happen, but a minute passed and there was nothing. He sent a look to Hojo – since his eyes were the only thing that could actually move right then – and he absolutely didn't like the almost Voldemort-like twinkle in the professor's eye.

"Wait for it. It will come soon." Hojo said with a grin, picking up a second needle and stabbed it into Harry's skin. The second dose made a tingling feeling start to spread throughout the teen's body, and it only got more and more noticeable as Hojo continued to inject more and more mako into Harry. "Sometimes it takes longer and sometimes it takes shorter time, but in the end they all scream."

And then Harry screamed as the mako finally started to work on his body.

-x-x-x-x-

It took Harry more than a week in the dark, window-less room to get used to his newly enhanced senses enough that he could walk out amongst other people and not go crazy from the scents, sounds, and a plethora of other sense datum. For a long while after the mako-injection Harry suffered from headaches and painful muscles. The first time he saw any form of light again – a lamp, and not a very strong one either – his eyes felt like they were going to be burned out of his skull. The first time Angeal had come into the room, the noise from the door opening and closing had been enough for Harry to put his hands over his ears in an attempt to block it out and to keep his eardrum from bursting. The first time Harry had tried to pick up a glass of water it burst into thousands of tiny little pieces before he'd managed to touch it with more than two fingers – and he'd been sure to touch it as lightly as possible too!

All in all there was a heck of a lot of things to get used to now. Luckily the headaches faded with time as Harry got used to his new senses, and a couple of weeks later he didn't have headaches unless he stood really close to a really high sound, but everyone had that problem. And Angeal helped him to control his new strength. It would've been bad if Harry was to accidentally break a person's hand during a handshake just because he couldn't control his grip.

"And there are only so many door handles that the Shinra Company is willing to replace thanks to newly-enhanced SOLDIERs," Angeal added, clearly amused. "Don't worry, everyone goes through the same. If it helps you, think of everyone else like a fragile, new-born baby when you touch them. That ought to help a bit."

But enhanced senses and physical strength and speed weren't the only thing that had changed. Harry didn't get to see it until he'd gotten back to his room, but after he'd taken a long-awaited shower the teen looked into the mirror in his bathroom, and his mouth dropped open in shock at the changes he saw.

His hair was still black, but while it had earlier been unruly as a rat's nest it was now arranged in a spiky hairdo, and it stuck up all over the place. Harry was a bit afraid of touching the spikes, wondering if they would stab him or if they would be soft as normal hair. Because, let's face it, there was no way those spikes could be anything but a product of magic. It wasn't a bad hairdo, just odd. And it took time to get used to it.

But Harry's hair wasn't the only thing that was different. His eyes were too. Where they had previously been Avada Kedavra green, they were now blue like the bluest sky and they were glowing thanks to the mako. It scared the shit out of Harry the first time he saw his own eyes glow int he dark, it was downright freaky! But the glowing and change of colour wasn't unexpected, he'd read about it in books so he'd been somewhat prepared for it. And the Avada Kedavra green refused to be pushed out totally, because flecks of it could be found in his eyes.

The best thing was that Harry could finally say goodbye and so long to his glasses.

That warranted a splurge, and he managed to get Angeal and Sephiroth to come along to a small restaurant to celebrate. Genesis was, thankfully, gone on a mission, otherwise Harry would've had to either invite him as well or insult the man by not doing so. And he didn't want to do either.

"And now the real training can begin," Angeal said after the meal, and Sephiroth nodded in agreement. Both of them were smirking in a vaguely evil way – the latter more than the former – and Harry nearly whimpered in fright.

The training regime which Harry had thought to be bad so far, paled in comparison to the hell that Angeal – and occasionally Sephiroth – put Harry through.

-x-x-x-x-

Getting a mako-injection and actually surviving it with his sanity and other functions intact had automatically promoted Harry to SOLDEIR 2nd Class, and boy did it give him lots of privileges that he hadn't had even as a SOLDIER 3rd Class and Angeal's apprentice. Harry basked in the novelty of it all for a while, but then it became so common for him that he didn't think about it more. He had other things to worry about. Like the increasingly difficult missions Angeal put him through in the simulation room. Or the paperwork he now had to fill out occasionally. He was also encouraged to mingle with the other SOLDIERs. Unknown to Harry this was a test to see just how charismatic and how good a leader he could be.

It was during this that Harry met and became good friends with Kunsel. The man had managed to become a SOLDIER 2nd Class without any mako-injections, and he was happy that way. A few sparring matches later and the two of them were often seen hanging out or discussing recent political happenings – like the slow rise of resistance in Wutai – in the cafeteria. Other SOLDIERs of various ranks would join as well and they could sit there for hours talking. Harry wasn't sure how it happened, but during the next several months he somehow became rather famous – as other than Angeal's apprentice that is – and gained a reputation amongst the recruits and privates that he was always willing to help out and answer questions.

"I can't believe ya got injected with that radioactive mako-stuff, yo!" Ron exclaimed one day. Harry was visiting the Turk offices to drop off some paperwork, and he'd stayed a little longer to talk to the redhead. "Look at ya, yo! Do ya even _feel_ it when I do this?!" and with that said, Ron started pinching Harry's bicep.

"You are insane, Reno." Harry declared in a deadpan voice as he watched the redhead pinch him. Then he smirked. "If you liked me that way, then you should have just said so, you know."

Ron stopped pinching at once, and had retreated behind his desk in a futile attempt to keep it between him and the grinning SOLDIER. "Ahem, ya said ya had paperwork to deliver, yo? Well, now that it is delivered, off ya go!"

Harry laughed and left the room.

It was during a routine mission under the large Midgar plate and into the slums that Harry finally met up with Hermione again. He had eradicated the monsters down there – which was done regularly to keep them from getting too out of hand – and he was just heading back to the market place near the column that held the plate up (and which was also the only way out and back on top), when he heard a vaguely familiar voice. Without thinking he changed course and walked around until he found a small house with flowers – honest to god real flowers! – planted out front. A young woman in a white dress and with long brown hair in a plaited ponytail with her back to Harry was talking to a group of three kids.

"It's so stuffy down here!" one of the kids protested.

"Your family just moved here, so it will take some time to get used to." The young woman said, the smile evident in her voice.

"But I miss the sky."

Another of the children snorted. "Who wants to see the sky? I don't!"

The kid sighed sadly and would have said something else, but a small pack of five of the hedgehog-like monsters appeared. The children screamed and the woman wasn't hesitant about putting herself in front of them to protect them. She didn't have any weapon at all, and the monsters attacked. Harry had long since drawn his standard-issue sword and was on the monsters before they could even come within three feet of the young woman and the children. These monsters weren't difficult and they were easily dispatched within a few minutes. The kids were, of course, in total awe of him, and it took some time before the brunette woman managed to send them off to play and to leave the grownups alone to talk.

"Thank you for your help," she said, her green eyes shining gratitude.

Harry hesitated a bit at the green eyes. Hermione had had brown ones when he'd seen her last, but if mako could turn his own green eyes into blue, who was to say that something hadn't happened to turn Hermione's green? Shaking these thoughts away, Harry grinned. "Nothing to it! I was glad to help! My name's Zack Fair."

"I'm Aerith Gainsborough." She held out a flower to him. She didn't seem to recognize him at all. "This is all I can repay you with. Please accept it."

"Thanks! Flowers are so rare that it's a wonder to see them in Midgar."

She nodded. "There is a church down here where they grow and I've planted some outside my house, too, as you can see."

"Why don't you sell them?" Harry suggested as he put the flower behind his ear. It looked a bit silly, but who cared? "Midgar will be filled with flowers, and your wallet will be full of money."

"Midgar full of flowers... wallet full of money... I... I hadn't thought about that." She seemed to really like the idea.

They talked for another while, Aerith having insisted to walk with him back to the market place and to the way up to the plate. Harry was getting more and more frustrated as she continued to not recognize him. Patience had never been his strength after all, and Angeal was always telling him to learn how to be more patient, but this time he just couldn't. He was far too happy to have finally found Hermione again after a little more than six years here in this dream-dimension-world-thing-whatever, and he wasn't about to let this chance pass him by.

They had passed the column and the market some time ago in their wanderings, and had now entered a children playground. They had also entered the topic of SOLDIERs at one point, though Harry wasn't sure how that had come about. Not that he was going to complain.

"Do you think that the SOLDIER members are happy?" the brunette woman asked him. "I mean, they are heroes to children, protectors of the peace, but they aren't normal. They get some weird special surgery, don't they?"

"So they say," Harry replied almost absentmindedly, privately wondering how he was going to reveal his real name to a Hermione that didn't seem to recognize him.

"Normal is best, I think. Those SOLDIER people are kind of... weird."

"Weird, huh?" personally, the green-eyed male thought that the wizarding world was far weirder than anything in SOLDIER, but to each their own.

"And they're scary. They fight, and they love it."

Harry couldn't deny that. He had been shocked at himself when he found himself enjoying fights. It had to be the mako in his body that was making him like that. However, he saw this as the perfect moment to jog Hermione's memory. "Ah, but we can't be worse than an angry Hungarian Horntail, Hermione."

She froze up at once, staring up at him with wide, green eyes and almost in fear. "Wh-who are.... wh-where did you.... _Harry_?!?!?!"

"Precisely! I was wondering how long it would take you to recognize me!" he grinned. In the next second he had an armful of crying Hermione. Hugging her close, Harry nearly sighed in happiness now that he had finally found the last of their missing trio. "I've missed you too, Hermione."

Hermione hugged him tighter. "I was so afraid that you were dead and had woken up. I haven't seen Ron either, and all I could do was stay here. Where have you bee-.... wait! Did you say you were a part of SOLDIER!?!??!"

Laughing at her shocked look Harry led them both over to a bench and sat them down. "Yep. I'm a SOLDIER 2nd Class. And don't worry about Ron either. He goes under the name Reno now, and he's a part of the Turks."

"Really?!" Hermione shook her head as if to clear it, and then proceeded to give him the interrogation of the century, wanting to know everything that had happened in the six years they had been here in Gaia. Harry told her some of it, enough that she was satisfied at least. And then it was Hermione's turn. "My eyes are green now because I opened them during our journey here. We went through the lifestream, you know, and I think some of it latched onto me. I've been open to the planet's feeling sever since then. When I woke up, I was lying amongst the flowers in the church I mentioned earlier. Mrs Gainsborough found me there and took me in, giving me the name Aerith. Mrs Gainsborough is a wonderful woman. I've been here ever since."

"At least you've been well in the past six years." Harry smiled.

"But I can't believe you would join SOLDIER of all things! Look at you! You're so... so... muscled now! And so pretty!"

"My face?" he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No, your eyes, Harry. They're so pretty. I mean, your green eyes were pretty too, but these... they... they're all bluish-green and _glowing_!" Hermione's old self seemed to strike through right then and she looked ready to pull out a microscope to thoroughly examine Harry's eyes.

Harry leaned closer to give her a better look. "You like them, huh? Take a closer look, then. They're infused with mako-energy; it's a SOLDIER trade mark."

"Oh, you!" Hermione laughed and pushed at him and he allowed it. Otherwise she wouldn't have managed to move him at all. Then she sighed. "I'm really happy I met up with you, Harry, but now I'm going to fret and worry if you and Ron are going to be alright. You as a SOLDIER and he as a Turk. Ugh, it boggles the mind!"

"I'll come and visit you with news as often as I can, alright? And I'll tell you when I'm going off on a long-term mission. How does that sound?"

"I suppose I can live with that." She got up and the two walked back towards the market and the way up to the plate. "Promise me you'll be careful?" Hermione said before she let Harry disappear.

He nodded. "Of course, and I'll build you a wagon too."

She blinked. "A wagon?"

"So that you can sell your flowers, of course. We're still going through with Operation: Midgar Full of Flowers, Wallet Full of Money!"

"Get out of here, you!" she laughed.

-x-x-x-x-

It wasn't long after this that disaster struck. Genesis had deserted Shinra, and had taken a large group of 2nd and 3rd Class SOLDIERs with him. And then Angeal followed. The time that followed certainly wasn't easy for Harry to handle. He wasn't all that shocked that the _Loveless_-quoting redhead had up and disappeared on them, but that Angeal had done the same was nearly unthinkable for him. Angeal, who was his mentor and one of his best friends, had switched sides.

The entire thing took a long time to sort out, and it didn't end until Harry was forced to fight against a mutated Angeal and kill him. Harry was given the man's buster sword and was promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class, but there was nothing joyful about it. He could sort of understand why Angeal had gone nuts – honestly, Harry would have killed everyone if he was the one who found out that he was part of a scientific experiment from birth and didn't know it – but Angeal had always been preaching about honour and heroes and dreams, and now he did the exact opposite!

'_It's just... unthinkable. And Sephiroth is acting weirder these days.'_ Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was still spiky, but had grown longer now. He also had a new scar to add to his collection, this one situated on his jaw on the left side of his face. It made him look more grown up and rugged than before. At least according to Hermione. She had held him in the church with the flowers when he'd cried for the loss of his mentor.

Shaking the depressing thoughts about what had happened half a year ago away, Harry easily lifted and fastened the buster sword to its sheath on his back, and then headed out of the Shinra Headquarters and towards the training grounds. The newest recruits were coming in today, and he wanted to be present to greet them. And make the teachers – his own former teachers – utterly pissed at his laid back attitude and the fact that they couldn't punish him for it.

'_One of the great joys in life: pissing off your old teachers!'_ The 21-year-old thought with a wicked grin as the elevator descended. He had changed in attitude since the ordeal with Angeal and Genesis, but he still managed to retain some of his previous happy-go-lucky-devil-may-care attitude.

"Off to annoy the teachers again, Zack?" Sephiroth asked. He stood in the entrance hall of the Shinra Headquarters, a file in his hands and was discussing it with Tseng of the Turks.

Tseng sighed. "Do not go overboard, Zack. The Turks are getting fewer recruits since you started scaring them all away."

Harry looked so innocent that no one bought it. "I'm not scaring them away! I'm weeding out the good from the bad!"

"And I like my official fanclub." Sephiroth deadpanned, obviously not believing a word that came out of Harry's mouth. "Just remember not to scare them too much and, for Gaia's sake, start doing your paperwork on time."

"And do something about your handwriting. We need a cryptologist at the Turk office to decipher it." Tseng added in an equally deadpan voice.

"Gotcha!" Harry waved and was gone.

"Do you think he'll listen to us this time?" the silver-haired general muttered.

"Well, perhaps if we are really lucky?" replied the Turk.

Sephiroth and Tseng shared a look and then sighed.

Not a chance.

Row after uncertain row of snot-nosed and hopeful 15- and 16-year-olds stood out on the training grounds. They hadn't even gotten their recruit-uniforms yet, the bags they had brought along placed by their feet as the teachers walked between them and straightening a stance there, or yelling an order here. Harry felt almost nostalgic as he watched them from the shadows of a nearby doorway. Had he really been that young and naive once upon a time?

Looking around, Harry could honestly say that he wasn't too impressed with the teens that stood out there, and he could understand why the teachers put them through such hell and acted like bastards all the time. It was a way to weed out those who weren't made for SOLDIER before they got themselves killed foolishly. Most of those that were weeded out were sent back to boot camp or ended up as infantrymen – which was the lowest position within SOLDIER. And infantrymen hated SOLDIERs despite the fact that they were all on the same side.

"You! Blondie! State your name and age and where you are from!" the bark from the teacher brought Harry out of his thoughts, and he focused on the poor teen who had been selected. By being selected like this, the blond was practically handed the job of being the recruits bully victim and scapegoat. Harry should know, he had been in the same position once himself.

The blond in question – with hair more spiky than even Harry's, and that was _without_ mako-enhancement – blinked wide, blue eyes and it took him a second to reply. "Cloud Strife, sir. I'm 16 years old, and I come from Nibelheim."

Harry nearly winced. Ouch. The boy had done exactly the same mistake as he had when he'd introduced himself, introducing himself normally and without any formality – which was not good. Of course, the teachers hadn't told them yet how to properly introduce themselves to a superior officer, and they did this just to humiliate the newest scapegoat and victim, cementing in the other recruits' brains that this was the stupidest of them all, before telling them how to do it properly.

"'_I come from Nibelheim'_!" the teacher mocked, then sneered. "You didn't read your pamphlet yet, did you, recruit? Pathetic! When you are asked to introduce yourself, recruit, you say: 'Strife, Cloud. 16. Nibelheim, sir!' and that is all! I do not want to hear your sob-stories or your life goals! I am here to beat those out of you!"

People snickered quietly and the blue-eyed SOLDIER 1st Class frowned. The teachers had gotten more sadistic since his own days as a recruit. How the hell could Cloud Strife have had the time to read the introductory pamphlet when they had been forced to stand to attention the second they had gotten through the doors and had been yelled at if they looked anywhere but straight ahead and moved in any way other than breathing and blinking?

"Let that be a lesson to all of you! Now! You! Introduce yourself!" the teacher pointed to the next person who introduced himself correctly, and the teacher smirked. "Good! See how easy it is, Strife?" he said to the blond before moving on.

Cloud continued to look straight ahead, but Harry's mako-enhanced sight caught the way the teen was biting the inside of his lip to either keep from crying or to give the teacher a piece of his mind and make the situation even worse. Harry found himself interested in the teen at that point, silently applauding the blond for being the better man.

'_I'll keep an eye at him.'_ Harry decided and then disappeared back into Shinra headquarters. He had paperwork to finish and then, ahem, _forget_ to hand it in until after the deadline, and Turks to annoy with his handwriting.

When it got around Shinra that Zack Fair hadn't showed up at the recruit-introduction and hadn't mentally scarred people left and right, people got afraid that the crazy spiky-haired SOLDIER 1st Class was planning some big prank on them all. They were jumpy and nervous for the entire week – especially when they saw him in the corridors – and Harry found it highly amusing.

It was his best prank yet and he hadn't done anything!

-x-x-x-x-

As he'd promised, Harry kept an eye at Cloud Strife's progress whenever he could. The spiky-haired blond was doing about as well as everyone else in his class when it came to the physical and theoretical classes. However, Harry's prediction of Cloud becoming the scapegoat and bully victim of his entire year had come true, and the boy also had to deal with stupid pranks, bullying and whatever else the other students decided to put him through. And unless there was some heavy physical injury or property damage, the teachers didn't give a flying rat's arse about what was going on.

It had been easier for Harry to handle. The students and the teachers hadn't been quite as vicious when he had been a recruit, and years with the Dursleys had prepared him to simply ignore the taunts and bullying, letting it go in one ear and out the other. But Cloud didn't seem to have that advantage, and slowly the boy was breaking. His class work became worse in an attempt to divert attention from himself, but it only added to the bullying, and if something wasn't done, then the boy would break completely.

'_I will not allow such a promising individual to pass through our fingers just because some jealous teachers and recruits couldn't keep their mouths shut.'_ Harry growled to himself. He had recognized the potential that Cloud had, and he was determined to bring it out.

"You cannot show favouritism to a recruit, Zack," Sephiroth told him when Harry had revealed his plans. "No matter what his situation is."

"Seph," Harry growled from his perch on Sephiroth's desk, using the man's much-hated nickname and ignoring the death glare he got in return. "By the time this year's recruit get the SOLDIER 3rd Class rank, Strife will be long gone and we will lose a very promising recruit."

The silver-haired general sighed and stared up at his friend and second in command thoughtfully. "How bad is the situation?" he finally asked.

"You've never been a part of the recruits, Seph, so you wouldn't know how it usually is. But will you take my word for it that the situation in Strife's eyes right now seems worse than the Genesis incident?"

"You cannot be serious."

"I am very serious. Children can be more vicious than any monster out there, Sephiroth."

There was a short thoughtful silence before Sephiroth spoke up again. "And you are sure that this Strife shows such great skill?"

Harry nodded with a grin, knowing he had won. "With a little spit and polish he will become a 1st Class in no time flat."

"Alright, alright, go and contact the boy, but to it discretely."

"Sir, yes sir!"

"And get off of my desk! You're sitting on my paperwork. Speaking of paperwork, how goes it with your own...? Zack! Get back here!"

-x-x-x-x-

The latest lesson that the recruits had gone through had been a free for all fight. This actually involved practically all of the recruits attacking Cloud and the teachers shouting from the sidelines, telling them how to improve kicks and punches. It was a massacre and Cloud obviously didn't stand a chance. And once they were done with the lesson – it being the last one of the day – the recruits and teachers left, leaving the beaten and bruised spiky-haired blond lying on the ground, gasping for air and curled together in a poor attempt to protect himself.

Crouching down beside the curled form, Harry only hoped that he wasn't too late as he cast the most powerful Cure spell in his arsenal. It worked at once, visible bruises disappearing and Cloud's breathing getting easier, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He'd feared there would be internal damages and though the Cure would've taken care of them, it was still painful and some nasty business.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked the blond, hoping to make his voice as neutral as possible and without any pity or sympathy. That would've made the teen utterly refuse to talk to him.

Cloud groaned and slowly managed to sit up, wincing a bit at his still bruised muscles that the spell hadn't gotten to quite yet. "I... I think I'm fine, thank y-" at this point the teen had looked up, realized who was helping him and had promptly gone tongue-tied, a small flush spreading across his cheeks.

Harry grinned and pretended not to notice. "That's great. I'm Zack Fair. It's nice to meet you."

"C-Cloud St-Strife, sir." The blond stuttered.

The SOLDIER 1st Class waved a hand flippantly. "Please, none of that sir-crap with me."

"Y-yes, sir."

"There you go again! Stop it! I don't want to feel like an old geezer! I'm in my best years yet!"

"Of- of course, sir."

"And again!" the silliness of the situation was worth it to see the light-hearted look enter the blonde's eyes, and Harry smiled as well. "There you go, much better."

Cloud blinked. "Huh?"

"You're cuter when you smile, remember that." Harry stood up and stretched and then walked away. "I'll see you around, Spikey!" he called over his shoulder before he disappeared.

The blond recruit was left behind, still sitting on the ground, blushing and staring wide-eyed after Harry, wondering what the hell had just happened and if all SOLDIERs were this.... unique.

-x-x-x-x-

When Harry had said that he'd 'see you around, Spikey', Cloud hadn't thought much of it. It sounded just like your usual promise which never got fulfilled. Or they could spot each other across the cafeteria, but that would be all the contact they would have until Cloud reached a high enough rank.

Or, at least, that was what Cloud had been expecting. He had definitely not been expecting to meet Zack Fair the very next day, and certainly hadn't expected to see the man in his weapons class. And like all other boys in the room, Cloud couldn't keep himself from staring in awe at the buster sword that was fastened to the 1st's back nor at just how easily Zack Fair controlled and moved the sword when he removed it from its sheath and to lean against the wall.

The teacher, looking like he'd just swallowed a crate full of lemons, told them what was going on. The SOLDIER was there to apparently give a lesson himself, and the teacher wasn't shy about taking this opportunity to run off and take a break. "They're all yours. Sir," he said right before he disappeared.

Harry grinned and turned to the students – who suddenly wished they had stayed in bed that morning – and thusly commenced the most gruelling hour of torture than any of the recruits had gone through yet. By the time they were done, half the recruits had to be dragged back to their rooms or to the infirmary, their muscles and bones aching like hell.

"So, what do you think?" Harry asked Cloud who had stayed behind – mostly because the blond feared that his legs couldn't carry him quite yet, but that was a moot point. The SOLDIER crouched down beside the blond, not even looking like he'd just beat the crap out of them all three times over. "Is this SOLDIER-stuff something that you want to continue with?"

"Ask me again when I have some more training and won't be beaten in the first two seconds of the fight," Cloud groaned as he massaged an aching muscle in his leg.

"Excellent answer," glowing mako-infused eyes flashing in triumph as Harry picked up the buster sword. "Then I'll see you here tomorrow morning at five o'clock, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."

"What? Why?" Cloud stared after the retreating figure.

"Because from this day henceforth you are now officially my apprentice, Spikey! Get used to it!" Harry gave a cheery wave to the flabbergasted blonde and disappeared out of the room while cheerfully whistling to Beethoven's_ Fifth Symphony_.

-x-x-x-x-

The same type of friendship that Harry had had with Angeal, he now had with Cloud. With the exception that Harry was the one who did all the teaching and Cloud was the eager little puppy-dog. Well, perhaps not a puppy. The blond looked more like a chocobo chick with that hairdo, not that Harry mentioned it to Cloud.

Alright, so he did point it out occasionally. Sometimes. Whatever.

The two of them got along very well, though Cloud was a quieter person than Harry had ever been, and the blond also listened to orders much more, too. A fact which made Harry pout because his little chocobo chick wasn't going to bring on the wonderful legacy of the Marauders. However, both Sephiroth and Tseng were very happy that Cloud wasn't Zack reincarnated, and so was most of the Shinra Headquarters. They didn't think they could survive another Zack Fair.

Of course, training and teaching Cloud was anything but easy. When Angeal had chosen Harry to be his apprentice, Harry had been finished with the basic training ages ago. Cloud wasn't and he couldn't go right into SOLDIER-level training no matter how much he wished for it. One try against a SOLDIER 3rd Class was enough to prove that to the blond who then had to grumpily settle for doing things the slow way. But since his teacher didn't have to divide his attention between twenty or more students and could focus only on him, Cloud advanced much faster than his year mates. It also helped that though Harry was a strict and demanding teacher, he didn't hold back on words of praise when Cloud did something good. It was almost a novel experience to be congratulated on a good job rather than belittled.

"So this is that little chocobo chick ya keep talking about, yo!" Ron said the first time he met Cloud, grinning widely. "Nice to meet ya, Spikey. I'm Reno, yo!"

"Rude," said Rude.

"Oh! He's so cute, Zack!" squealed Cissnei.

"Zack, I don't understand. Why did the bald man call Reno rude?" Cloud blinked after the leaving Turks.

Harry chuckled. "No, no, you misunderstood him, Spikey. The tall bald one is named Rude."

"Why? That must get confusing."

"What can I say? They're Turks! Their codenames involve Nunchaku, Katana, Shotgun, Legend and Rod. They're the oddest of the odd."

"Look who is talking."

"Hey!"

-x-x-x-x-

Harry never got to introduce Cloud to Hermione, though he did tell her about the blond. First it was because he was far too busy training Cloud and then Sephiroth had to get obsessed with a research project and Harry had to take over practically all the work that usually fell to the silver-haired general. The man had been acting odder and odder lately, and now he had practically locked himself in one of the file rooms and refused to come out until he found the answer to what he was looking for.

Poor Cloud had to spend more and more time training with the other recruits of his year. The first time the blond was so nervous that he nearly couldn't force himself through the door, but when Harry met him again later on that same day, Cloud was staring thoughtfully out at the city. "I don't remember them being so weak."

"They were always weak, but now you are strong." Harry replied.

Time passed in the same manner. Sephiroth hardly came out of the file room, Harry was buried in paperwork and Cloud had to train with 3rd Class SOLDIERs now since the recruits of his year couldn't give him a speck of challenge. Ron and Tseng – the times Harry met them in the corridors – were looking less and less happy. And when the Turks were worried, then the rest of the world should be worried as well. And Harry's phone calls to Hermione got shorter and fewer between as well.

And then came the order from above Harry, Cloud and Sephiroth were sent on a mission to Nibelheim to investigate the mako reactor site, and this was when things went straight to hell. Sephiroth discovered that he was an experiment, implanted with cells from an extraterrestrial creature called Jenova. He set Nibelheim ablaze in his anger, and Harry was gravely injured when he tried to stop the silver-haired man he had until then called his friend. Cloud, despite being run through by Sephiroth's Masamune, managed to push the former general into the lifestream, and Harry felt really proud of the blond then before darkness swallowed them both.

When Harry next came to he was submerged in a tank filled with mako, a breathing mask connected to a tube which went up to the top of the tank being the only thing that gave him oxygen. In a tank next to his own was Cloud, but the blond didn't look good at all. Despite his worries and his instincts screaming that this was wrong and dangerous, Harry was far too exhausted to do anything but fall back asleep.

"_You call yourself SOLDIER?"_

The voice was painfully familiar and Harry twitched in his sleep. His eyes grew wide when he saw Angeal appear in front of him.

"_You tarnish the SOLDIER name!"_ Angeal said, his white wing flapping slightly, a feather falling down.

"Wait!" Harry shouted, but it was too late. Angeal was gone again. Reaching out for the feather, the Boy-Who-Lived muttered, "Those wings... I want them too."

Opening his eyes Harry was still floating in the mako-tank. His eyes narrowing dangerously, Harry pulled one arm back and with all his might punched the glass of the tank, but nothing happened. He punched again and a small web-like crack spread from the impact spot. One more mako-enhanced punch was enough to break the glass, spilling the mako from inside onto the floor and pulling Harry along, depositing the SOLDIER 1st Class on the cold ground.

Lying there and panting for breath, Harry could only count himself as lucky since he was still fully dressed. A door off to the side opened, and Harry at once faked unconsciousness. Footsteps came closer – there was only one set of them so there was only one person – and Harry easily heard the shocked gasp when the person discovered that he had broken free from the mako tank. The new person ran over to check on him, and at that point Harry got to his feet, glowing green mako running down his entire frame, giving him a frightening look. As soon as the new person came close enough, the SOLDIER's hand shot out and pushed, throwing the person into the wall and knocking them unconscious.

Looking over at the unconscious person and frowning at the lab coat with the familiar Shinra logo on the chest identifying the man as a scientist that worked under Hojo, Harry had to admit that he didn't like this at all. He stumbled slightly as he walked over to the mako-tank where Cloud was and turned a few valves and knobs, draining the mako.

He stepped into the tank as soon as he could and held Cloud. "Hey. Hey, Spikey. Wake up, please."

It didn't help, the blond was out of it. Now that he wasn't surrounded by green mako, Cloud looked even worse than before and Harry frowned again as he picked up the teen and stepped out of the tank. What the hell had happened around here? Why were the two of them in mako-tanks? The last thing he remembered was that Cloud managed to defeat Sephiroth and send the crazy loon into the lifestream. Looking around, Harry sighed happily when he spotted his buster sword standing up against a wall. It was dusty and perhaps a bit rusty, but when it was placed back into its holder on Harry's back he didn't feel as naked as without it.

Looking around again, Harry spotted a file sitting on a table. Walking over and with Cloud still in his arms, Harry opened the manila folder and started reading, his brain going haywire and eyes going wide when he realized what had happened to him and Cloud.

------------------------------------------

**Analysis of Procedural Failure**

**Failure Case #1:** _Fair, Zack – SOLDIER 1__st__ Class_  
**Summary:**_ Desired_ _effect did not occur. Strong tolerance to Jenova cells due to SOLDIER conditioning assessed as cause. _

**Failed Case #2:** _Strife, Cloud –_ _Apprentice to SOLDIER 1__st__ Class already mentioned._  
**Summary:** _Weak tolerance to Jenova cells led to toxicosis. Lack of response to outside stimuli suggests severe system damage. Recovery highly unlikely._

------------------------------------------

Those Shinra bastards – with Hojo at the front, there was no doubt about that – had used him and Cloud in an experiment, trying to infuse them with the same cells that Sephiroth had. And because it had gone wrong Cloud was now poisoned and sick and had a very, very small chance of survival. If Hojo or anyone else had walked into the room right then, then Harry would have killed them all without thinking twice about it. He was utterly furious.

Controlling and reigning in his murderous thoughts, Harry started to think about their situation. Cloud was poisoned. And not just poisoned, but _mako_ poisoned. That was the biggest problem. He needed help as soon as possible. And what about Ron and Hermione? They were probably worried sick about Harry and Cloud by now. How much time had passed anyway?

Shaking himself, Harry set to planning. _'I need to get to Midgar again. Hermione can heal Cloud, she's become that cetra-thing. She can help. And she and Ron need to know that I am alive. Then off to Midgar we go.'_ Even in his own mind he couldn't bring out his usual attitude. Instead he simply sounded cold and furious to himself.

"Wait here a bit, Spikey," he muttered as he gently placed Cloud back on the ground. "I'm going ahead to clear out all the vermin. I'll be back soon, okay? Just wait."

It didn't take him long to clear out the place. Both monsters and Shinra infantrymen were ridiculously easy to dispatch, especially since Harry was utterly furious at what he and Cloud had been put through here. It was the Shinra Mansion right outside Nibelheim, so at least it wouldn't take them too long to get back to Midgar. In one of the rooms he found the bag he had packed before coming to Nibelheim with Cloud and Sephiroth, and pulled out a couple of spare outfits. His own outfit was still wet from the mako – and who knew what the mako had done to the clothes anyway? – and he quickly changed into an identical uniform, bringing the other back to Cloud and changing the teen's clothes too. He didn't want the blond to get sick in the wet clothes.

By the time he was done exploring the mansion and changing Cloud, it was dark outside and it was easy for him to sneak out and get down to Nibelheim. The town was utterly razed with the ground, and Harry stared in shock. Sure it had been burning thanks to Sephiroth, but it couldn't have been this bad, could it?

"No time to think like that. I need to get away. Come on, Spikey, stay with me. Aerith is going to heal you nicely, just you wait. You'll love her, Spikey. I've told you about her before, haven't I?" he kept on muttering. Quite often infantrymen attacked him, but though Harry had been submerged in a mako-tank until very recently he easily took care of them. It was still surprisingly exhausting for Harry and more than one of the infrantrymen were only wounded and not killed. The fact that they were alive was an obvious factor in why the Shinra Company were quickly notified about Harry and Cloud's escape, and why the two were now top priority targets.

Little by little, hiking and hitching a ride with people, Harry and Cloud made their way towards Midgar – though the blond never moved unless Harry did it for him, and the only sounds that came from Cloud were occasional groans. Though the more time he spent out of the mako-tank, the more coherent Cloud became, his eyes opening and actually flashing in recognition when he saw Harry.

"Don't worry, Spikey, we'll get to Midgar just fine. You just keep getting better and better, I won't let anyone hurt you."

They had reached the very edge of the valley where Midgar was situated, and Harry nearly breathed a sigh of relief. They were almost safe. Of course, this was the point where Murphy's Law kicked back in and Shinra troops appeared again. And this time it wasn't just one or five or ten. No, those numbers were easy to deal with. This time they had gone all out to kill the SOLDIER 1st Class and his apprentice, and had come in force.

Harry could barely hear the sounds of a chopper coming his way from Midgar, and he sighed almost in relief. The only ones who used a chopper at all times were the Turks, and if it was the Turks then Harry could trust them. Ron, Tseng, Cissnei, Rude, he knew deep down that he could trust them all to at least to take care of Cloud. Ron he could trust to go even further for him, and perhaps even Tseng and Cissnei. It was a comforting thought.

Placing Cloud carefully behind some rocks in an attempt to hide him, Harry turned back to the infantrymen in front of him, grinning his usual cocky smirk. If they thought it was going to be easy to defeat him, then they were dead wrong. He was going to kill as many of them as he could before he fell, and hopefully give the chopper time to come and rescue Cloud.

"Wait for my orders!" Tseng's voice sounded through the communication gear that one of the infantrymen held, and Harry easily heard it with his enhanced senses. "We need to take them alive! I repeat: we need them alive!"

The infantryman who held the communication gear pulled off his helmet and the gear and threw it away, obviously not about to listen to orders. Harry blinked in surprise when he realized that he knew that particular man. It was Nomura, the bully who had bothered him way back in his recruit and private days. Without words of warning Nomura started firing his automatic gun and was followed by the rest of the men with him. With a curse Harry brought in all his SOLDIER skills and even a little magic to avoid being hit. He managed to cut down several of them, hating them more and more with every bullet he had to avoid, but there were too many infantrymen and only one Harry. Despite Harry being a SOLDIER 1st Class it was obvious that it was the infantrymen who finally had the upper hand, and they were quite eager to exploit it too.

"Such a pathetic display!" Nomura shouted with a twisted smirk on his face as he aimed at the constantly moving Harry. "Can't even beat a few infantrymen! Where is that infamous SOLDIER skill, Fair?!"

"This is payback!" another infantryman shouted.

All the shouting and all the firing of guns was enough to wake Cloud from his mako-poisoned sleep, and the blond blearily looked around the rock he'd been placed behind, eyes widening at the scene that met him. The blonde's appearance had been exactly what a hidden infantryman sniper had been waiting for, and he took aim at the dazed Cloud. Harry spotted the red laser beam and at once jumped in front of Cloud. He wasn't fast enough to bring up his sword and deflect the bullet, though, and it tore through his chest.

Harry gasped in pain and then groaned as the sniper shot him again. Everyone had frozen when he'd first been shot, but now all the infantrymen opened fire. Ignoring the bullet wounds and the blood that was liberally flowing from them, Harry attacked again. He was desperate now. Where were the Turks?! They should've been here by now!

He wasn't sure what happened from one moment to the next, but he suddenly found himself lying on the muddy ground, gasping desperately and futilely for breath, feeling dizzy and weak. The infantrymen had retreated now that he was on the verge of death, and also because the Turk chopper had finally appeared, forcing them back. Cloud had managed to crawl over to where Harry lay dying, tears running from his blue eyes, his hands clenched in Harry's ruined SOLDIER uniform.

"You're crying, Spikey," Harry muttered weakly, then coughed and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. More than one bullet had pierced his lungs. Not even with the best Cure out there could he survive this.

"Zack..." Cloud nearly sobbed. "Don't... you can't..."

"Don't go blubbering on me now, Spikey," he tried to smile. He picked up the buster sword, ignoring how heavy it felt and handed it to Cloud. "This... is for you. Protect your honour, always... Embrace your dreams. If you want to be a hero you need to have dreams ... and honour..."

"ZACK!!!!" Cloud shouted, but Harry only vaguely heard him, as if from far away.

The pain was fading, everything was slowly growing dark.

And then there was nothing.

"You did a good job, puppy," Angeal's voice came from out in the darkness, the man's hand reaching in and pulling Harry out of it as well.

Harry looked around the endless white space they stood in. "Where are we? Shouldn't you be dead?"

"I am," Angeal replied. "And so are you now."

"Ah, right," the Boy-Who-Lived muttered, the memories from his last few moments alive flooding back. "That was rather painful."

His old mentor seemed amused. "Indeed."

"So what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the lifestream or something? Come to think of it, should I be in the lifestream as well?"

"You will never be a part of the lifestream, little pup, because you were never from Gaia to begin with."

Harry blinked and blinked again. It took him a moment to remember the wizarding world and why he'd come to the dream-dimension-world Gaia. "So you know about that, huh?" he laughed a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his head and feeling like he'd just been caught doing something stupid when Angeal had been his master.

Angeal shook his head in amusement. "Gaia saw fit to inform me when I died. You and your two friends made a very brave choice, you know. I do not think I could have done the same."

The younger male saw fit to ignore that latter part. He didn't believe for a second that Angeal would have hesitated to make the same choice, but he didn't comment on that. "Speaking of such; shouldn't I be going back to my own world and my awaiting body?"

"You will go soon enough. Gaia has a few more things to show you before she gives you up."

"Huh?"

"Watch."

A sort of movie ran in front of them, showing how Cloud had gotten away from the battle site before the Turks had showed up and how the blond had ended up meeting the resistance group AVALANCHE, how he met Hermione and how they decided to go after Shinra and then Sephiroth.

"If Gaia held me back here so that I can kick Sephiroth's arse into the next ice age after Cloud kills him, then I'm more than happy to comply!" Harry growled as he watched the 'movie', cracking his knuckles. In the next minute he stared horrified as Sephiroth did the unthinkable and killed Hermione. He was just as devastated as Cloud.

When Hermione showed up beside them, Harry wasted no time in pulling her into a hug. She hugged him back tightly, crying on his chest and muttering about how glad she was to finally see him and trying to tell him everything that had happened since his death.

"Don't worry about it, Hermione, I know what has happened." Harry nodded to the 'movie'.

She blinked with watery green eyes, trying to dispel her tears and managed a small smile. "I always knew you were looking over us and making sure we were alright." Then she spotted Angeal. "Uhm, hello?"

"Angeal Hewley," the man introduced himself, smiling a bit at her surprised look. "It is nice to finally meet you. The pup has been far too secretive when it comes to you."

"Hey!" Harry protested. "Must you continue to call me a pup?!"

Hermione giggled. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Aerith Gainsborough in this world, Hermione Granger in the other. Thank you for beating some sense into this idiot." She poked Harry's chest but never moved out of the circle of his arms. She was far too happy to finally see him again.

"Hey!" Harry protested again.

Angeal laughed before turning their attention back to the 'movie'.

They watched as Cloud and AVALANCHE managed to defeat Shinra and Sephiroth in a spectacular battle that destroyed the Midgar plate totally. Ron was the only one of the trio who had survived the entire ordeal, and Harry was given two whacks on his arms – from Hermione and Angeal respectively – when he suggested that they try to kill the redhead as well so that they could all sit there and watch the 'movie' and laugh at the living people. It was a good thing that Gaia didn't allow Sephiroth to appear in the same spot as Harry, for if the silver-haired male had appeared near him, Harry would've done his best to kill him all over again despite the fact that the man was dead.

Then came the part about the remnants who tried to raise Sephiroth from the grave and the geostigma that they had set loose on the unsuspecting population. Harry hated them as well for what they put his little chocobo chick through. Not that Cloud was such a small chick anymore. The man was 23 by now, after all.

Harry was given the chance to see Cloud one last time before he was sent back to the wizarding world. The blond had been injured gravely by Loz and Yazoo right after he had defeated Sephiroth-Kadaj, and had ended up in the limbo where Harry, Hermione and Angeal still stood. Hermione had simply spoken to the spirits of Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo, helping them and guiding them into the lifestream, but now she extracted herself from Harry's arms and walked over to Cloud, kneeling beside him and gently touching his brow.

"Mother..." Cloud muttered without opening his eyes.

Hermione was amused. "Again? Why is everyone calling me their mother lately?"

Harry approached the two and took in all the changes in his former apprentice. The boy had grown. "I guess they must be fond of you." He said and didn't miss the almost jerk Cloud's eyelids did at his voice, but the blond couldn't force them open.

"This one is a bit too big to adopt." Hermione ran her hand through Cloud's hair.

Harry crouched down beside them and put a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Tough luck, Spikey. It sounds like you don't have a place here quite yet. Off you go." He and Hermione gently pushed the young man down to be swallowed by the white light they stood on, sending him back to the living world. He and Hermione stood practically in the 'movie' they were watching, Harry actually feeling the wood of the doorjamb he was leaning against. It was the doorjamb that led into the church with the flowers that he and Hermione had often visited, and a lot of people were gathered around a pool of water that now took up the space where Hermione's precious flowers had been.

And in the water floated Cloud.

The two of them watched like proud parents as the blond woke up to the great relief of his friends, dunking young Denzel in the water and ridding him of the geostigma. At that Harry sent a look at Hermione wondering when she had had the time to plan all that and execute it, but she just looked back at him with an innocent look that he didn't buy for a second. Bloody planets and their kidnapping of random girls that they then used as a way to be able to do nice things like saving the world. Of course, it was for a good cause, but still.

Then suddenly Cloud seemed to spot them, his eyes growing marginally wider. Hermione sent the blond a small smile before she retreated from the 'movie' area and out of its reach. Harry grinned and gave the young man a thumbs-up before waving as well and following Hermione's lead. He did spot the first truly happy and peaceful expression that passed over Cloud's face since the blond had been fighting Shinra and Sephiroth two years ago.

"Well, that was interesting." Harry said with a sigh as the 'movie' disappeared altogether, and then turned to Hermione. "I think it's soon time for us to go back and kick Voldemort's arse again."

"Harry, I don't think I'm going."

"What?"

"I am a cetra, Harry. I am the _last_ cetra. The planet needs me here."

"But what about your parents? What about your body?"

She smiled. "You will tell them everything, won't you, Harry? Explain everything to them and tell them why I have to stay here?"

Harry groaned. He couldn't say no when she gave him that look. "Your body?" he tried again, almost desperate.

"It is no longer there. Please, Harry?"

He sighed and gave up. "Of course I will, you didn't even have to ask. They aren't going to be happy about it, that's for sure."

"You'll manage." She sighed. "I'll see you again, you know. One day these people here might need some serious help and who better to get than the Boy-Who-Lived?"

Rolling his eyes, Harry shook his head. "Stop calling me that. I died. I can't be the Boy-Who-Lived if I died."

Angeal stepped up to them again. "That is neither here nor there, puppy. It is time for you to go."

Harry barely managed to give Hermione one last hug and a grin to Angeal before he disappeared. It was an odd experience to disappear completely from one world, not even being able to think, and then appear in his body in Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

Slowly his mako-enhanced, glowing blue eyes opened and blinked. He sat up and looked down at himself, glad to find that Dumbledore had been correct and that he had kept the body and skills he had gained during his time with SOLDIER. His body ached a bit from having grown so much in only twelve minutes, but it was a minor ache to some of the wounds he'd gotten during missions.

Looking at the wizard's robe that had been left for him to dress in when he woke up, Harry grimaced. Such impractical things! He called for Kreecher and without hesitation let the house elf know what he wanted, putting a few threats of giving out clothes and freedom if Kreecher didn't do as ordered. The house elf was not happy, but he popped away to do exactly as Harry had bid him. It took some time, but Kreecher was back in the room fifteen minutes later and was carrying a perfect replica of the SOLDIER 1st Class uniform that Harry had gotten so used to wearing. Even the shoulder-armour was fastened on and looked just like Harry remembered it.

He dressed quickly and sighed happily upon finally being back in something familiar. Casting a long lasting look at the still sleeping Ron and Hermione's empty sofa-table, Harry straightened and left the dark room. It was time to meet up with the Order of the Phoenix again after more than twelve years without having been able to rely on them.

What would they think of him now?

What would they think of his scars? Of his abilities? Of his going to kill each and every one of Voldemort's Death Eaters and then the dark lord himself because that was the only way to ensure that the man and his ideals stayed dead and didn't bother them all anymore?

Dumbledore wasn't going to be totally happy with that, but the old man was the one who had suggested they do this entire dream-learn-thing in the first place so he would simply have to accept it.

'_First things first, though,' _Harry thought. _'I need a new sword.'_

-x-x-x-x-

Wow, that's a long story! Please tell me what you think!

You know, this was originally set to be a Harry(Zack)/Cloud slash story. It didn't end up that way for some strange reason. Then again, originally Ron was set to play the role of Genesis, but he ended up as Reno instead. Hum, the story took a life of its own. And FYI, I haven't finished playing the _Crisis Core _game nor have I played the original FFVII game so most of this is based on what little I could find out on the net!

Now, I know I have changed around quite a lot when it comes to certain events. Like how Zack and Aerith and Zack and Cloud met. And the entire Genesis incident which in _Crisis Core_ actually doesn't end until shortly before Zack gets shot and dies. I just couldn't be bothered to write it like that, so this is how it ended up. And I know that Cissnei was supposed to be more in the story, and that she gave her Turk-issued bike to Zack for him and Cloud to escape, but since I hadn't mentioned her much at all in the story previously I didn't want to suddenly pop her in out of nowhere.

One last thing. I know I didn't bring in Ron(Reno) and Hermione(Aerith) too much into the story. But this was Harry(Zack)'s story, and that is all there is to it!

Thanks to:

lady firefox, shadow lupus, Lady-of-the-gray, lildevil425, tanith-4486, Von, WindChildx66, TheOneThatIsAddictedToHPfics, BlueIceSpirit, CrayonsPink, handadeath, Fireheadgehog, The Sisterhood08, Reader128, Inumaru12, Sabishii Kage Tenshi, animaluvr123, sango taijiya1, Catzi, Namesake, Make war not love. war is fun, no name, La Luna Negra, Michael01, Kuro Ookami Hatake, writer2000z, morissa, gold queen, Summercloud, belle hawk, and MagicallyInclined.


	9. HP & Naruto 'slash'

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to J. and Masashi Kishimoto.

**Author's Note:** My laptop has been acting against me lately and I've had it off for repairs at least twice. Sorry about that. Please enjoy the story, and I'll try to update everything else soon.

**Crossover:** Harry Potter & Naruto

**Pairing:** Itachi/Harry

**Warnings:** They are young. I can only say shinobi must mature faster, especially Itachi. There is no underage sex, so no worries. Hugs and kisses is all, but you have been warned!

**Rating:** T

This is not beta-ed!

**One-shot # ****9: Stolen Child**

Every summer the Dursley family went on vacation to Japan, and then through a hidden portal to the large, hidden continent that held what was known to only a few as the Elemental Countries. The reason why the Dursley's – these self-proclaimed examples of complete normalcy and nothing freaky – did this definitely very freaky journey every year, was because Petunia Dursley had a cousin. A cousin that was twice-removed on the maternal side. A twice-removed cousin that was also the wife of a very influential Clan Head.

In short, the only reason that Petunia insisted on this journey year after year to this freaky country of even freakier people, was because she could then come back and brag to people about having a cousin that was married to something that could amount to a minor royal lord.

Vernon Dursley came along for that very same reason, but was also hoping that he might make a good deal on drills every time he went, and especially to a freaky continent that didn't seem to have drills as far as he knew. "Weird people, the whole lot of them. They have electricity and television and perfectly good bathrooms and toilets, but they don't have drills or cars."

Dudley Dursley and Harry Potter, of course, didn't have much to say about it. Dudley thought a village and country full of kick ass ninjas was the coolest thing ever, and Harry simply praised himself lucky that he was allowed to come along at all. Besides, despite what Petunia or Vernon might say, he actually liked the family they always visited.

So, all in all, they all went, and if anyone asked why the family went to Japan for more than a month each summer, Petunia was always quick to tell them all about her very important cousin twice-removed on her mother's side, and no one suspected anything else.

-x-x-x-x-

When Harry was two it was the first time he could actually remember having met his relatives in Konohagakure. Actually, he mostly remembered one person, the others just kind of were blurry and scarily serious and sombre people that never seemed to smile. No, the one person that Harry could remember was a boy a year old than him.

A boy going by the name Uchiha Itachi.

Harry had been sitting alone in the far reaches of the beautiful gardens that surrounded the Uchiha mansion, staring at everything with wide eyes and especially the wonderful flowers that were all around him. Aunt Petunia had told him to go out in the garden and stay there and not make any trouble, and had then proceeded to take Mrs Mikoto's attention by proudly introducing her to Dudley and had gone waxing poetic about the fat two-year-old.

So there he sat alone, amusing himself with the flowers, and humming some nonsense tune quietly to himself, and tried very much not to be in anyone's way. However, he didn't seem to be doing very well in this endeavour because when he stood up to move to another flowerbed, Harry promptly found himself crashing into another young boy, perhaps a year older than him.

Black eyes stared down into green eyes, and the staring continued for a while.

And continued.

And continued.

And it continued until Harry noticed a small cut on the other boy's palm. It wasn't a really deep or dangerous cut, but it was still bleeding. Harry didn't like seeing the cut on the black-haired boy's palm, the other could hardly use his hand with it. Harry knew. He'd had a cut like that a few weeks ago when Aunt Petunia had forced him to help her make dinner despite his very young age. So Harry reached out for the boy's hand and did what he'd done to himself when Aunt Petunia had ignored his cries.

He licked it clean.

The slightly bigger boy seemed utterly shocked and didn't even try to pull away. He simply watched as Harry licked the wound clean, and then refused the green-eyed boy to leave when he tried to. "**Boku wa Uchiha Itachi desu. Anata wa dare ka?**" _("I am Uchiha Itachi. Who are you?")_

Harry didn't understand a word and simply blinked.

Itachi repeated his question.

Harry still didn't understand.

After the fifth time, the green-eyed boy simply walked away, wondering if there was something wrong with the other person when the older boy followed him and insisted on continuing to question him. This happened until they found Mrs Mikoto who seemed to be the only one who knew both Japanese and English, and explained the situation for them both.

Harry hoped that now that they were introduced that Itachi would leave him alone and stop following him, and that Harry could go back to keeping out of everyone's way, but the young Uchiha refused to cooperate and continued to stalk him.

And that's how Harry Potter met Uchiha Itachi.

-x-x-x-x-

**(A FEW MORE SCENES BETWEEN H.P. & U.I. AS CHI****LDREN**

**INTRODUCING SHISUI**

**SASUKE'S BIRTH = HARRY'S FIRST HUG WITH ITACHI + KYUUBI ATTACK**

**ITACHI LEARNING ENGLISH FROM MIKOTO AND TEACHING JAPANESE TO HARRY)**

-x-x-x-x-

Harry's first kiss happened when he was nine, and it was to none other than Uchiha Itachi.

It was during yet another month-and-a-half visit to Konohagakure, and when they got there the Dursley's and Harry were told by every Uchiha that they met up with that Itachi had become one of the youngest jounin in Konoha history, only surpassed by a guy known as Hatake Kakashi.

Petunia, Vernon and Dudley were all very, very impressed of course, spending great deal of the time praising the genius Uchiha and generally sucking up. Harry had waited until everyone had calmed down a few days after arrival before he offered his congratulations very haltingly in accented Japanese to Itachi.

They were yet again in the gardens surrounding the Uchiha home, and it was night time. Lamps that were strategically placed around the garden to create the best mood were the lit, and they did their job extremely well. Harry had retreated here as usual when he couldn't take his family's constant congratulations to Itachi, and it hadn't taken long before Itachi himself had followed him outside.

Apparently even geniuses could only take so much grovelling and praise before they feared for their sanity.

"**Ome-omedeto goza-i-masu**," _("Congratulations,") _Harry congratulated the older boy with a smile.

"Thank you," Itachi replied in perfect if a bit accented English, a tiny smile twitching at the corners of his lips and somehow softening the black eyes that usually seemed to be so hard and cold. "I think you, Sasuke and mother are the only ones who are completely honest in your solicitations."

"That can't be true," Harry insisted. But he knew that Itachi had some trouble with his large family, especially his father. He still remembered the hell that Fugaku put a five-year-old Itachi through.

Itachi shrugged and didn't say anything else on the matter, and Harry knew better than to push.

They sat for a while in companionable silence before Harry broke it again. "I should have given you a gift," he muttered. "It's a big occasion for a ninja, but I don't have anything to give you."

"You don't have to." Itachi said, looking over at the green-eyed boy.

"But I want to!" Harry insisted. But what could he get the black-eyed boy? Harry didn't have any money, and he doubted that Aunt Petunia would give him any. She had, of course, forced Dudley out the day after the arrival to get a small present, and the fat tub of lard had returned with several bars of chocolate, half of them already eaten.

"Hmmm..." Itachi looked thoughtful for a minute. "You could give me a kiss."

Green eyes blinked a couple of times. "A... a kiss?"

The older boy nodded. "That can be your present to me."

Harry thought about it. He'd seen Petunia kiss Dudley's cheek and it didn't look too bad despite the fact that Dudley didn't seem to like it. But no boys Harry's age seemed to like being kissed by their mothers, so perhaps it had something to do with girls kissing boys. It seemed icky. But if Harry kissed Itachi's cheek it would probably be alright because they were both boys, right? In the end the green-eyed boy nodded determinately as he reached a decision.

"A-alright," Harry muttered and took a deep breath as if preparing himself for a great plunge. He leaned over towards Itachi on the stone bench they were sitting on, and puckered his lips and aimed for the other's cheek. What he hadn't counted on was Itachi turning his head at the last possible second so that their lips met.

It was a simple touch of lips against lips, nothing else, and yet Harry's eyes grew wide and he flushed brightly before jerking backwards and falling off the bench altogether, a hand covering his mouth. He stared at Itachi who looked very smug and triumphant with himself, and continued to blink in surprise.

All throughout the rest of the summer Itachi continued to suddenly and secretly kiss Harry, and always on the lips. And though the kisses never went past simple lip-on-lip touch, Harry never failed to blush brightly and Itachi never failed to look very satisfied. There were even a couple of close calls with Fugaku or Sasuke or Shisui nearly stumbling across them. The last kiss was given right before the Dursley's were going to leave Konoha. Their bags were packed and waiting by the door, and they were saying their goodbyes when Harry found himself suddenly pulled into the living room rather than hallway where everyone was saying goodbye.

"Itachi, wha-?!" the green-eyed boy yelped as he was pushed against the back of the couch, but was quickly cut off by the older boy when he covered Harry's lips with his own. It was a kiss that lasted longer than any of the others, and Harry was completely out of breath by the time that Itachi finally let up.

"Don't let anyone else kiss you," the jounin muttered instead of a goodbye, and disappeared with the speed of a shinobi.

Harry kept on blushing every time he thought of the kisses for the following months, and was given a lot of weird looks from the Dursley's.

-x-x-x-x-

**(A FEW MORE SUMMERS OF KISSING**

**POSSESSIVE ITACHI**

**SASUKE IS CUTE!)**

-x-x-x-x-

His first year at Hogwarts having just been finished, Harry had a lot on his mind when they finally visited their Uchiha relatives in Konoha. The green-eyed boy was thinking about the entire new world he had discovered and what had happened at the school for magic that year. Despite Dumbledore's kindest words and flowery phrases it all came down to the fact that Harry had actually killed Quirrel. Alright, he had no idea at the time that Quirrel would turn into ash due to Lily Potter's protection, but he had still died.

It didn't shock him as much as Harry thought it would, or even thought it should. Harry supposed it had something to do with all the time he had spent in Konoha amongst the shinobi, and especially Itachi. He was bound to pick up some of their ways, and Itachi had insisted on giving him some light training. And now every one of the wizards seemed to be very vary around him, even Ron and Hermione. He understood why, but it was very annoying.

Itachi was quick to notice that Harry was brooding, but luckily didn't say anything until Harry himself was ready and told the story. He told him about everything, about the wizards, about Voldemort, about his parents, about Hogwarts and the teachers, and about everything that had happened that year.

"And this headmaster is not offering you training despite knowing that Vol-de-mort is after you?" Itachi asked, sounding incredulous – which meant that he really was shocked seeing as he showed feelings very rarely.

"Nope, said nothing about it at all," Harry sighed, "though he did say something about children and precious youth."

"Sounds like Gai," the Uchiha actually had to suppress a shiver at the thought. The world was being overrun by Gais. He shook himself and focused back on Harry. "Well, I will not let that happen. I'll make sure to train you this summer whenever I can."

Harry blinked. "Really?"

"Yes, Sasuke's been asking me to train him too, so you'll have a sparring partner."

"Two birds with one stone, in other words," the green-eyed wizard grinned in amusement. "Ever the shinobi!"

"Of course," Itachi replied in a voice so full of confidence and Uchiha pride that it became rather silly, and Harry giggled a bit. The twelve-year-old sighed and pushed the green-eyed boy back to lie on the grass of the garden, and hovered above Harry, leaning on his elbows placed beside the younger boy's head.

"Itachi?" Harry stared up at the bigger male, but didn't feel scared. With the past two summers of kissing he'd actually begun to take comfort in it. Itachi was the first one to have touched him kindly and shown interest in him and not in hurting him, so there would always be a special place in Harry's heart for him.

Itachi didn't reply verbally, instead choosing to kiss the daylights out of Harry, which the green-eyed boy eagerly responded to. However, what Harry hadn't expected was the sudden introduction of tongue to their kisses, and he shied away when Itachi's tongue ran across his lips for the first time. But the older boy didn't let him retreat or get away for long, and gently took hold of Harry's chin – well, gently for a shinobi – and more or less forced his tongue into Harry's mouth then proceeded to map out every corner and every ridge and every tooth he could get to.

By the end of it, Harry was panting harshly, his cheeks flushed, and staring up at Itachi with surprised eyes.

"See," Itachi murmured, annoying enough not being out of breath like Harry. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"

"B-but you..." the green-eyed boy muttered, trying to string together a coherent sentence. "Wh-why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted to try it."

"But your _tongue_-!"

"Yes, what of it? It didn't hurt, did it? Then what's the problem? You did like it, didn't you?"

Harry blushed even brighter, but he had to admit that Itachi was right. He did like it, and though it felt a bit weird, it had also felt very good, especially when one got used to it. And boy, did Harry get used to it. Itachi seemed to be an insatiable kisser, going to great lengths to kiss the green-eyed boy whenever and wherever he could. In the mornings he stole a kiss, if they met while in the village proper he hid them away and stole a kiss, at home before and after dinner, and then in the evenings in the garden. Itachi kissed him all the time apart from the few days that he was off on a mission.

Sasuke even caught them once!

"**Aniki wa hentai da!**" _("Big brother is a pervert!") _the little boy declared with a bright blush on his face.

A blush that was only beaten by Harry's own red face – which he desperately hid in Itachi's shoulder finding that to be the closest hiding place. Not that it helped much, but it made Harry feel a bit better. Itachi simply smirked and shushed his little brother, then said something about secrets in Japanese. Harry wasn't sure; he was far too embarrassed to be paying much attention.

"I think we just scarred your little brother for life!" Harry squeaked after the little boy left, and looked up at the Uchiha. "If Sasuke turns out to like boys too, your parents will never forgive me!"

Itachi smirked, and didn't let Harry escape. "Oh, do not worry. Sasuke was corrupted a long time ago."

"Eh?! But he's only six!"

"He can now boast to having beaten me in something. Early bird gets the worm and all that."

"That doesn't have anything to do with this! Hey, Itachi! Oi! Sto-!"

Kissing ensued again with a very eager and pushy Itachi, and a poor Harry who really couldn't bring himself to stop it. Stupid shinobi and their stupid jutsu and stupid Uchiha's who were far too good at kissing to be legal.

-x-x-x-x-

**(****MORE WILD TONGUE-KISSING**

**THE UCHIHA MASSACRE THAT DID NOT HAPPEN)**

-x-x-x-x-

Uchiha Itachi was one perverted and possessive bastard. Not only had he stolen Harry's first hug, Harry's first kiss, and Harry's first kiss which involved tongue, but he apparently was fully intent on stealing everything else from the green-eyed teen. Not that Harry really protested, he was far too happy to have a very handsome shinobi vying for his attention – it certainly beat having Rita Skeeter or Minister Fudge do it – but he thought that Itachi could have asked at least instead of simply taking everything.

However, the next step in their very long relationship was taken under a more depressing and more sombre mood.

Harry and the Dursley's had been visiting with the Uchihas for over a week by the time that Itachi finally showed up. That particular evening the Mrs Mikoto and her husband Fugaku had been invited to dine with the Hokage, and the invitation had been extended to Sasuke and the Dursley's too. Harry had, of course, been invited as well, but he'd declined the offer. Not only was Uncle Vernon's furious glare a very obvious hint, but the green-eyed teen had wanted to stay behind and think about what had happened during his fourth year at Hogwarts, Voldemort's resurrection and Cedric nearly dying.

'_The only reason that Cedric didn't die is because Itachi has given me some training during the summers,'_ Harry thought to himself, feeling a bit pissed off at Dumbledore for knowing the dangers and still refusing to train him like a proper wizard, instead putting faith in luck and the innocence of youth or whatever.

The house around him was completely dark and silent. As said, everyone else was out, and Harry himself was just getting ready to get to bed, taking a last check around the house to make sure that windows and doors were locked. Not that it would help against a village full of shinobi, but it made Harry feel a bit more secure.

Dressed in a sleeping yukata that Mrs Mikoto had gifted him with, the green-eyed teenager traversed the silent and dark corridors like a ghost, and he was just about to enter the guest room that was designated as 'his', when the window at the end of the corridor suddenly opened and a white-armoured and white-masked shinobi stepped in. Harry had been told about the ANBU, and knew that this was one such shinobi at once, but it still didn't stop him from reacting.

Harry gasped in surprise.

The ANBU looked up, eyes focusing on Harry.

In the next second the ANBU stood in front of the green-eyed teen, and said teen's yelp of surprise was quickly muffled and cut off by a black-gloved hand covering Harry's mouth firmly, though the ANBU was obviously very careful to not cover the slightly smaller teen's nose. "Do not make any noise, Harry."

Green eyes blinked several times. "I-Itachi?" Harry whispered in surprise once the other's hand was removed.

Itachi removed his mask. He looked tired and worn. "It is good to see you again, Harry."

"You look like hell!" Without thinking Harry pulled the older teen into his own room, and made him sit down on the bed. "You need some serious rest, Itachi. When was the last time you got any sleep?"

The ANBU started counting on his fingers.

"Right, right, forget I asked. Insane shinobi." Harry grumbled as he clambered onto the bed behind the Uchiha, and tried to help with the removal of weapons and white armour. "Uhm... is it okay for me to see you like this? Aren't ANBU all secret and such?"

"Don't worry about it. Everyone else knows thanks to the bragging of the Uchiha Clan," Itachi replied and gratefully leaned backwards against Harry once his armour and weapons were taken off.

"Hey, Itachi, don't use me as a mattress!" Harry protested, but he didn't mind all that much. And when Itachi didn't reply and didn't move away, the wizard sighed, rolled his eyes and then moved them both to lie properly on the bed. He finally got away from playing Itachi's pillow, and had just settled down on the bed to sleep, when he was suddenly pulled backwards until he was lying with his back pressed up against Itachi's front and a bright blush settling on his features. "Itachi!"

"Yes?"

"Will you let go of me? I didn't go from being your mattress to being your teddy bear!"

"Just go to sleep, Harry," the shinobi muttered, his arm staying firmly wrapped around Harry's waist and the smaller teen firmly pressed up against him, enough for Harry to feel ever inch of the hard muscles that covered the other's body.

"B-but... y-you... oh, damn!" Harry huffed and gave up.

They spent the night like that more than once during the summer since Itachi had apparently suddenly gained distaste for sleeping in his own room, and would always sneak into Harry's in the middle of the night – if he didn't simply stalk the green-eyed teen when said teen went to bed, and refused to leave no matter what. After a few times of trying to get an answer out of the shinobi, Harry simply gave up and let him do as he wished, besides, it wasn't as though Harry really minded sleeping in the same bed as Itachi.

However, it was also a very busy summer for Itachi as a shinobi, missions of the higher ranks kept coming in and shinobi were sent out. And since these missions were high classification, it meant that every shinobi ranked below tokubetsu jounin couldn't be sent out and the ANBU, Oi-nin and jounin were almost run ragged.

That also included Itachi, and Harry was never certain when he would wake up to find the shinobi completely gone. Or, sometimes he even went to bed alone and when woke up in the morning to find that Itachi had returned and had snuck into Harry's bed again. Often the clothes and white armour that Itachi shed before climbing into the bed would be covered with stains of blood, and the genius Uchiha usually looked completely exhausted and, in his sleep, he also looked much burdened by what he'd been forced to do.

Fugaku and the rest of the Uchiha Clan seemed to think nothing was wrong, and never offered any sort of comfort that Harry could see, so the green-eyed teen took up the role of taking care of Itachi. In the few weeks that he was there, Harry figured he could give Itachi at least some good memories – hopefully – and perhaps those would be enough to make amends for the horrible and terribly rude way that Dudley was constantly acting.

-x-x-x-x-

There. Please tell me what you think.

I meant to write out how Harry and Itachi's relationship progressed through the years, but that obviously didn't happen. I am sorry about the abrupt ending and the random breaks in bold Caps Lock which denote what would have happened had I bothered to write more, but this is all you get. I don't think this story will ever be finished.

Thanks to:

White Ivy, Shi-koi, skyflyte12, lildevil425, CharmedbyFire, BlueIceSpirit, Zephyrus Genesis, Felixia, Namesake, Ore no Naruto, Blades of Silver, Catzi, Mask of Lies, Apocalyptical, Dragonmage182, Snowfire the Kitsune, ShaShiSar221, Hikari Kaiya, Firehedgehog, animaluvr123, senna-robbins, Toastzilla, World's Neighbor, Yuki Hikaru, Jadoku Tsubasa, Sony Boy, Key Shinigami, AyumiFallassion, hey, Sharingan-Youkai, Chosha Kurenai, Dysgrammatophobia, Nightmaric, Lyra, Ravenclaw Samurai, and Madbunnyrabbit.


	10. HP & One Piece

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Eichiro Oda.

**Author's Note:** I've tried to stick to the customary _One Piece_ insanity. I hope I managed to do it.****

Crossover: Harry Potter & One Piece

**Pairing: **N/A

**Warnings:** Set right after Roronoa Zoro joins Luffy – i.e. right after the part with Axe-Hand Morgan – and right before they meet Nami and have a run-in with Buggy the Clown.

**Rating:** T

This is not beta-ed!

**One-shot #1****0: We Are!**

Jumping through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries in a one in a million, perhaps, maybe drink-the-Felix-potion-and-hope-for-the-best chance of ever ending up in the same reality as Sirius Black and finding the man, well, it was utterly daft, bonkers, crazy, mentally disturbing and a million other words and euphemisms that Hermione could have rattled off at the drop of a hat.

"Just because _The Quibbler_ says that the Veil is a gateway to other worlds and dimensions, it doesn't mean that it is actually true, Harry," the bushy-haired woman pointed out.

The green-eyed male smiled at her. "Does that mean that you aren't coming with me?" he asked innocently.

Hermione snorted. "Nice try, but you aren't getting rid of me that easily, Harry."

In the end not only had Ron and Hermione elected to come along, but so had Neville, Luna, Ginny, most of the rest of the D.A., and, shock of all shocks, so had one Draco Malfoy.

"Right now it is best for me to keep a low profile in the wizarding world until things calm down again," the blond Slytherin said. "Besides, you will need someone with a healthy self-preservation instinct with you to keep you alive. You Gryffindors do not know the meaning of self-preservation, so I am doing you all a big favour."

"Of course you are," Ron snorted, but otherwise held his peace. After the war the arguing between Slytherins and Gryffindors seemed just... stupid.

"I am going to be your anchor," declared Mrs Weasley when they told her of the plan to go through the Veil. "I know that I cannot stop you from going, but I can make sure that you come back. Using the same spell we use on our clock which tells us what is going on with each family member, you will bind yourselves to me and if you ever end up in a situation that would have killed you in that world, I will feel it and pull you back here where you are safe and sound."

"Mom, are you sure that is such a good idea?" Ginny asked hesitantly. The Weasley family had lost a lot of children during the war and this was probably Mrs Weasley's attempt to have some sort of control over the situation, but it could also be very tiring and nerve-wracking for the elderly matron. A situation may give the woman the feeling of utter danger and death but it could be resolved in a second, and Mrs Weasley would have exerted herself to pull the person back for no reason at all.

"Do not worry, Ginny, dear," Mrs Weasley puttered around the overly crowded kitchen. "If we set the level of the spell and give it some further specifics, it should be fine. Besides, this will also ensure that all of you end up in the same dimension or world if not the same geographical location for you will be connected to each other through me."

Ron looked as hesitant as Ginny. "Are you cert-"

"Not another word out of you, young man!" Mrs Weasley waved a wooden spoon at her youngest son. "And you cannot talk me out of this, so stop trying."

Everyone knew that when Mrs Weasley took that particular tone the case was closed, the battle lost and all one could do was simply give in and accept it.

So the spell was performed though they had to use Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley and Xenophilius Lovegood as anchors since there were so many who were going. Other preparations were made and the large group of teens got ready, and then, finally, the day had come and they all met up in the Department of Mysteries in the room with the Veil.

"Well then, on to the next great adventure!" Harry said as he ran up the small steps and through the Veil. He was quickly followed by Hermione and then, of all people, Malfoy. And slowly, one by one, the others that had gathered passed through the Veil and it really was the start of a grand adventure.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry and Hermione woke up and found themselves on a small island. The sand was a beautiful light beige colour and surprisingly soft and comfortable, the water was azure blue and clear as crystal, small waves nipping at the shore and practically begging you to come and take a swim. The weather was nice and warm, like a perfect summer day back in England, and with just a little bit of wind coming from the sea that cooled you off and kept it from being too warm. The leaves in the trees and the bushes rustled in the gentle breeze, the cries and shapes of seagulls flew overhead and there were a few odd cries from the local birds that could be heard but not be seen.

"This is amazing." Hermione muttered as she pulled out a band and tied her hair back to keep it out of her face. "It's so nice and peaceful!"

"Beautiful." Harry agreed and pulled off his hoodie. It was far too warm to walk around with that on, and it was much more comfortable in a t-shirt. This was the first time that he was ever on a real beach and actually had the time to enjoy the experience, and he fully intended to make use of it.

They spent a couple of days simply lazing about on the beach before neither of them could take the inactivity anymore and they set off into the trees to explore the island. They soon realized two things: it wasn't big at all and they were the only people there.

"We can't stay here forever no matter how much we may want to." Hermione pointed out one evening as they sat on the beach, roasting a couple of fish on the small bonfire they had made in the sand.

Harry nodded in agreement. "We need to find the others," he said and bit into one of the wonderfully juicy fruits they had found. "And we need to search for Sirius."

"The question now is how do we get off the island? Well, obviously, we need a boat of some sort, but how to make one?" Hermione reached into the bottomless backpack she had packed and pulled out several books and started searching for spells that could help them.

Another two days later the brainy woman had found several spells to help them out and they were both busy using the spells to cut down trees, make planks out of them and then forming them together into a small boat that was comfortably big enough for the two of them and with a single mast with sail placed in the middle of the deck. There was no cabin aboard nor could they go under deck, but it didn't matter much for a witch and a wizard who could easily put up wards to keep away water and cold wind.

"There, that should do it." Harry said with a smile and gazed at their boat. It looked rather professional even though the sail – which had been made from sowing together from his and Hermione's extra clothes – looked like a bad patchwork quilt. They had even given it a name just for the fun of it, and soon the _Gryffindor_ would sail the seas towards the closest inhabited island.

"Here's the food and water." Hermione floated several small wooden barrels that they had also made, and placed some in the prow and an equal amount at the stern so that the weight was equally distributed. Two barrels were filled with fresh water while the other two were filled with food, fish and fruit respectively, and everything was preserved with charms to keep it all as fresh as possible.

"With the barrels it doesn't give us much space." Harry remarked as the two of them started pushing the ship further into the water. It was surprisingly heavy, but the water was nice and warm and they both waded out until it reached their mid thighs before they pulled themselves onto the deck.

"Well, we didn't have much to work with you know. And this boat won't hold forever, especially since we aren't experts at those particular charms and spells. I'd be glad if it lasted us to the nearest inhabited island where we can get information and perhaps buy a real ship – or travel across land. _Point me_!" Hermione said and the order sent her wand spinning in her palm until it finally pointed out a direction. Another couple of spells took care of the steering oar and made sure that it always steered them in the right direction. They had found nifty wind charms which they used to fill the sail and propel the ship in the direction they wanted, but these had to be renewed every hour or so.

"At least we don't have to worry about the wind every pushing us the wrong way, or suddenly disappearing." Harry grinned and leaned back against the bulwark. There was nothing to do now but relax and wait and enjoy the nice day.

"I worry a bit about underwater currents, but I don't think it will be too much trouble." Hermione leaned back as well and picked up a book from her backpack.

The feeling of excitement and adventure, of sailing into the unknown, disappeared surprisingly fast as they steadily moved forwards and the island got smaller and smaller while nothing else showed up on the horizon. There was nothing to see apart from blue seas and even lighter blue skies with the occasional white fluffy cloud floating by. Even the seagulls slowly dwindled in numbers, and there was only so much one could talk about with your best friend who knew everything anyway, and in the end Harry had to ask Hermione to hand him a book otherwise he was liable to die of boredom.

"If this is what it took for you to start studying I would have thrown you onto a small boat in the middle of the ocean a long time ago," Hermione smiled widely as she handed a book over to Harry.

-x-x-x-x-

It took a nice, long five days to get to the island. The first four days had been monotone and boring to the extreme, but the morning of the fifth day had brought along the slow unravelling of the spells and charms on the boat, and the rest of the day had been spent with both Harry and Hermione almost frantically casting spells and charms to keep their vessel afloat and on the right course and moving. They were so busy with that that they didn't notice the island they were heading for until they were close enough to swim to it. And, despite the slowly darkening twilight, they could see smoke arising from further inland and Harry spotted a large ship far away heading towards the island.

And then their little boat failed completely and fell apart.

Both of them shouted in surprise as they fell into the water, only to blink and stare in shock since the water didn't reach them any further than their hips despite the fact that they were still pretty far away from the beach. Around them pieces of wood and fruits and dead fishes floated around along with the clothes that they had used to make their patchwork sail.

"Hurry and pick up the food and the clothes before they float away!" Hermione exclaimed and made a grab for the closest items.

"Got it! _Accio_ clothes!" Harry pointed his want to Hermione's backpack and watched as all the wet clothes flew into it before repeating the spell and summoning their food and directing them into his own little backpack which wasn't bottomless like Hermione's but was still much larger than what it looked like.

Finally back on dry land Hermione simply waved her wand and dried both herself and Harry off before she conjured bluebell flames. "It's getting colder since the night's coming and I don't want to get sick. Besides, we need to eat something and I'm just too tired to walk around and search for dry sticks."

They huddled together around the fire and warmed themselves and cooked their last fish. Desert consisted of fruits but they left some of those for tomorrow's breakfast. Hermione pointed her wand into her backpack and cast a drying charm on the clothes before casting a charm that would part them into two piles of clothes, one pile of her clothes and the other pile being Harry's. A few charms ensured a comfortable warmth throughout the night and, laying down close to the blue flames and enjoying the heat, Harry and Hermione slowly fell asleep while watching the dark skies and counting the shining stars.

If they had been just a little bit more awake and aware of their surroundings then they would have known that they had been watched ever since they came in view of the island, and that someone had seen all the magic that the two of them had used in the past half hour or more. And now that someone left their observation point and ran through the woods all the way back to the town that was built on the island. The figure ran through the entire dark town and up to a large white tower. A flagpole on top proudly flew the white flag with a stylized bird holding a wrench and the words MARINE written underneath the bird in blue. There was a high stone fence around the entire compound, but the gates opened to let the marine private through, his white shirt and blue pants and cap making him easily blend it with the rest of the men in the compound.

Running to the large tower and up countless stairs and down countless corridors and past fellow marines, the private didn't stop until he had reached a pair of fancy double doors. A pair of marines stood guard outside, rifles in their hands and swords at their hips, and they watched calmly as the private took a moment to get his breath back before he managed to pant out: "I need to see the lieutenant!"

"It is rather late." One of the guards said.

"This is important!" the private insisted.

"Come back tomorrow." Said the other guard.

"But he must know!"

The two guards sighed and shook their heads. Rookies. "Alright, what must he know?"

"He said he wanted to know if ever someone with Devil Fruit powers landed on the island, right?"

"Yes, so what?"

"Well two of them just landed on the north beach! They were waving sticks around and making things fly and conjuring floating blue flames!" the private nearly waved his arms about in his excitement. A second later he found himself pushed into the office and face to face with the lieutenant and telling said lieutenant what he had seen on the north beach.

-x-x-x-x-

The next morning Harry and Hermione were right in the middle of their breakfast of fruits when there were shouts and running feet and before they knew it they had been surrounded by a large group of marines all of which were pointing either rifles or swords at them and shouting for them not to move a muscle.

"Make way for Marine Lieutenant Adámas Dia Mond!" a voice shouted and the marines parted and made a path for their lieutenant. Adámas Dia Mond looked rather like a spinning top, his tiny head placed upon the broadest shoulders that Harry and Hermione had ever seen, and from the shoulders his body slanted downwards to his tiny feet. He seemed ready to start spinning around at the drop of a hat, and Harry had to bite his lip to keep from snickering at the sight.

"Uhm, may we help you somehow, lieutenant?" Hermione spoke up hesitantly. Neither she nor Harry had any idea of what was going on and why they had suddenly been attacked the first thing in the morning.

"Silence!" a marine shouted out and stepped up beside the lieutentant who remained silent and simply kept staring at Harry and Hermione. The marine pulled out a piece of paper, unrolled it and started reading. "Be it known that you have sinned for your willful commission of crimes against the World Government. Said crimes are to be cited herewith: landing on the beach without papers, not registering with the marines when stepping onto the island, eating Devil Fruits and practicing evil witchcraft on the surroundings-"

Harry stared open-mouthed. "That's insane!" he protested. "How the hell could we know that we were supposed to have papers or register with the marines when coming here?! And what in heaven's name are Devil Fruits?!"

He notably didn't say anything about the witchcraft stuff. If people here were as suspicious and afraid of witchcraft as people had been back on Earth during the Salem Witch Trials or the Inquisition, then it would simply be best to forget all about magic for the moment.

"Silence, criminal! Get to your feet!" the marines moved in and Harry and Hermione jumped to their feet, their backpacks clutched in their hands as they moved back to back to keep from being poked by rifle barrles or sword points.

"I have decreed that Devil Fruit powers shall be illegal on this island, and my word is, indeed, law." Adámas Dia Mond spoke up finally. His voice was... squeaky to say the least, and Harry and Hermione shared a rather freaked-out look. These people were starting to seem rather weird.

"You have now two options, criminals," the lead marine spoke up again. "You can either come along calmly and serve your sentence, or you can pay us twenty million berri. You will also have to use your Devil Fruit powers in some way to help the town and prove to us that you are here peacefully."

"Twenty million berri?!" Hermione repeated in shock. Berri was obviously the local currency and she had no idea how much that would be in pounds or in galleons and sickles and knuts, but the very sum was more than enough to nearly give her a heart-attack.

Green eyes narrowing, Harry frowned. The sum was ridiculous especially when neither one of them had any idea of what these marines were talking about, and the rest of it just sounded like a way of taking advantage of cheap labour. Sharing a look between each other, the two eighteen-year-olds then promptly twisted on the spot and disappeared from the ring of rifles and swords with a loud crack. The marines cried out in surprise and shock, some of them falling back on the sand, and Adámas Dia Mond frowned in anger at the escape.

And thus began Harry and Hermione's days as fugitives from the law. Luckily the island was big enough to hide and not be found at once and the marines didn't have enough men to cover it all. At first the local civilians helped Harry and Hermione with food and water, but that soon ended when the marines spread rumours that the two Gryffindors were evil witches come to cast a horrible curse on the island and its inhabitants. After that rumour was spread, people were much more likely to scream bloody murder and throw dangerous things at Harry and Hermione and report them to the marines rather than help them out with food. All of this only made it even more difficult for Harry and Hermione to get a hold of some money and buy themselves a new boat and get away from the island and the very stubborn marines who just wouldn't give up on the chase.

Things actually went rather well for the two of them and they had even found a nice merchant vessel that they could easily sneak aboard and stowaway and finally leave the island. The merchant ship was leaving in a couple of days and Harry and Hermione had parted ways briefly in order to escape a large group of pursuing marines with agreement to meet up at the ship when the time came to leave. However, the day before they were to leave Harry, who had hidden under one of the overturned rowboats at the docks, heard a great commotion around the middle of the day.

"They've caught it! They've caught the female witch-monster! Huzzah for Lieutenant Adámas Dia Mond!" people cheered.

Harry froze where he sat curled up underneath the small rowboat, green eyes wide and his heart jumping into his throat. They had caught Hermione! His first instinct was to jump out of his hiding place and run to her rescue, but the months of travelling around England in search of horcruxes and the war had taught Harry restraint and a little more patience if nothing else, so he managed to keep himself from running straight into a trap and uselessly being caught with Hermione. No, he had to think of something else. But he couldn't do it in the middle of town where it would be too much of a chance to be discovered. The best thing would be for Harry to go back to the beach where he and Hermione had first landed, and try to come up with a plan.

People were so excited about the capture of the 'monster' that they dropped their work-tools and ran off to see the creature. Harry had to bite his lip to keep himself from shouting at them all to stop calling Hermione a monster and an it. Instead he took the opportunity and slid out from his hiding place and quickly ran off down the beach to the closest cluster of trees, and continued running until he was certain that no marines were following him. Afterwards he apparated to the beach on the north side of the island, made sure that there were no marines keeping guard, and then practically collapsed into a sitting position on the sand, head in his hands, and tried to figure out how in heaven's name he could save his best friend from an entire marine base.

It was almost night when a dull thump made Harry look up, and he blinked when he saw a small boat – a bit bigger than the one he and Hermione had managed to put together – run aground in the shallow sand. Nothing and no one was moving aboard the boat as Harry waded out to it. If it didn't belong to anyone then he and Hermione could use it to get away from the island without having to trust their luck and sneak aboard a ship.

Peeking over the rim of the bulwark when he reached the boat, Harry blinked at the sight that met him. Two young men about his own age were laid out on the deck. The leaner one was dressed in a red vest and blue shorts and with sandals on his feet and a straw hat covering his black hair that could rival Harry's own in messiness. The other was much more built, three katana-swords lying near him. This one had short hair in a light green shade that Harry had never seen before – not even on Tonks when she had been showing off. Both of them were unconscious and from the way their stomachs were growling and the lack of barrels of food or water on the boat, it was obvious what was wrong with them.

Sighing and shaking his head Harry started pushing and dragging the boat towards the shore, using magic to push it the rest of the way when it became too difficult to move it manually. Two well-placed _mobilicorpus_ spells lifted the two unconscious men from the boat and onto the beach, and a few _accio_'s soon had summoned enough fruit and fish to feed the two strangers with. Harry started a normal fire and started cooking the food. He was hungry himself and perhaps doing something manual like this would help his brain to work out a way to help Hermione. He hadn't had any luck so far anyway.

The smell of roasting fish soon penetrated the air and both the green-haired swordsman and the teen with the straw hat twitched before they sat up with a shout, practically frothing at the mouth and throwing themselves at the food only to cry out "Hot!" and pull back when the flames burned them.

Harry simply blinked and felt a wee bit freaked out. "Uh, the food will be done in a minute?" he said, though it sounded more as a question than a statement.

The two turned to him and seemed a bit surprised to see him there. It was the black-haired teen with the straw hat that spoke up. "Who are you? My name's Luffy!" the last part was delivered with an impossibly wide grin. The green-haired man didn't say anything and seemed more than content in simply letting the black-haired teen, Luffy, take care of the talking.

"My name is Harry." Harry managed a small smile in return. "It's nice to meet you. Here, the food is ready." He handed the fish and fruits to the other two and had to bite his lip to keep from grinning at the way they swallowed the simple meal.

"Second helpings, please!" Luffy demanded cheerfully barely two minutes later, having already consumed three fish and five fruits.

Harry blinked again in surprise. He was still on his first fish.

"Don't be impolite, Luffy!" the green-haired male growled in a rather deep voice and stuffed fish bones in Luffy's mouth. "Chew on that!"

"Gah! Zoro! Why'd you do that?!" Luffy practically stuck his entire hand into his mouth to dislodge the fish bones which had, apparently, gotten stuck.

"You were being an idiot, that's why!" Zoro replied.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Harry protested and handed Luffy his own fruits. The fish would be more than enough for Harry.

"Hahaha! Thanks, hairy man!" Luffy laughed and stuffed the fruit into his mouth, his cheeks bulging out ridiculously. And impossibly, too. It almost seemed as if the young man's skin could stretch to accommodate the food.

"I'm not hairy! I'm Harry!" the green-eyed male protested.

"That's what I said. Hairy."

"No you didn't!" both Harry and Zoro shouted, but Luffy simply laughed and didn't pay any attention.

"And you said it wrong again!" Harry added.

Luffy just laughed and eagerly drank the water that Harry offered him.

Zoro sighed and shook his head before he addressed Harry. "Where are we anyway?"

"Ah, you aren't locals? I thought you were since only locals go out to sea without any food or water. Are you survivors of a shipwreck?" Harry had been rather worried if these two were locals, and he relaxed a little bit now that he knew that they weren't. He also sidestepped the question of where they were since he actually had no idea _where_ this island was. Neither he nor Hermione had managed to get their hands on a map.

"So you aren't a local either?" Luffy's teeth crunched through the fish bones. Notably, he didn't answer the question either, sidestepping it just like Harry had done.

The green-eyed male hesitated a bit, for a moment afraid that these two had heard about him and Hermione from the locals, but then he decided to throw caution to the wind and replied. "No, I'm not local. My friend and I got stranded here when our boat sank."

"Where's your friend?" Luffy looked very excited at the thought of meeting someone new.

Harry nearly winced at the question. "She's, uhm, in the town."

"Oooohhh! There's a town on this island?! Let's go, Zoro!" jumping up, Luffy would have ran off in a random direction if Zoro hadn't grabbed his wrist. Harry gaped like a fish on land as Luffy's arm stretched and stretched and stretched like rubber, and the sandal-wearing teen reached the tree-line before he realized that he wasn't being followed. "Why are you sitting there for?! Let's go!"

Zoro let go of the arm he was holding and it snapped towards Luffy, smacking the teen in the face and sending him to the ground before the arm snapped into place at a normal length. Zoro, unlike Harry, didn't seem too shocked and instead leaned back against a rock, his three swords laying in the sand beside him. "Calm down, will you? It's far too late to go to town now. Let's just stay here until morning and then we will go and explore."

When Luffy still seemed hesitant and ready to run off to town no matter how late it was, Harry took out his want and conjured up silvery-blue magical butterflies and sent them flying towards Luffy. He didn't think that someone who could stretch like Luffy would scream witch and attack Harry, and the butterflies worked at once and Luffy was utterly transfixed. He chased the magical things around, shouting eagerly and laughing when they simply slipped through his fingers like small sparks before reforming into butterflies and flying off again.

"That will keep him occupied!" Zoro grinned. He didn't seem too concerned about the fact that Harry had just conjured some obviously magical and glowing butterflies. Then again, if he really did travel with a guy who could stretch his arm like Luffy had done, then he had probably seen weirder things than conjured butterflies.

"Where are you headed if you don't know where you are?" Harry asked them a little while later after Luffy had gotten tired of chasing the butterflies around.

"We're heading to the Grand Line!" Luffy was exuberant as always.

"The Grand Line?" he parroted. Harry had no idea what that was but apparently Luffy took it as disbelief rather than ignorance so no awkward questions arose.

The young man nodded so much that his straw hat fell off his head and into the sand. "Yeah! I'm going to be King of the Pirates and find the One Piece!"

Harry couldn't help but smile in the face of such enthusiasm even if he didn't know much about what Luffy was talking about. "That sounds really cool."

"Yup!" Luffy nodded again, dislodging his hat once more. "And Zoro's my first mate!"

"Good luck to the both of you, then." Harry decided that he wouldn't ask about Luffy's insanely stretching arm since neither Luffy nor Zoro had asked about the conjured butterflies. It was only polite, after all, and a pirate-king wannabe like Luffy wasn't going to the nearest marine base to rat on Harry so the green-eyed male felt rather safe in not obliviating them.

They spent some more time sitting around the fire and Harry regaled the other two with a few fun moments from his school life – like the times someone ate a Canary Cream or other Fred and George jokes – and it sent Luffy into guffaws until the young man had to take a moment to get his breath back, and Zoro laughed too though a bit more calmly than Luffy. At some point all of them slipped into sleep and the next morning Harry summoned some fruit as breakfast before he pointed Zoro and Luffy to the path that would take them straight to the town.

"Follow that and you will be in town in twenty minutes tops." He said and pointed at a very well marked, straight path.

"Hey, why don't you come with us and we can look for your friend together!" Luffy suggested with a grin.

Harry simply shook his head. He couldn't get Zoro and Luffy further in trouble with the marines than they already were, and he already had a plan on how to get to Hermione and it didn't involve either of his two new friends. "Ah, no, I'm sorry but I have something else to do first. Perhaps we will see each other in town."

He bid the two pirates goodbye, inwardly musing over just how non-pirate like they were and thinking back to all the muggle pirate movies and the way those had portrayed pirates. Luffy and Zoro resembled anything but pirates! It was rather cute actually, and it served to lift Harry's spirits a little bit before he set out to carry out his plan. It was obvious that Harry couldn't take on a marine base all by himself, magic or not. Nor could he hope to sneak in and sneak out again with Hermione at his side. So that left only one thing: going through the main gate and without trying to hide.

It took Harry an hour to find a marine patrol and another fifteen minutes of pretending to battle with them before he let them overpower and capture him. They took his holly wand at once and snapped it before someone placed it in a small chest to be carried back to the base. The other marines proceeded to give Harry a good beating and kicking before they tied his arms to his torso, practically covering him in ropes from shoulders and to his waist. Six long ropes connected him to the marines, two marines holding on to each rope where four marines walked ahead and four walked behind the procession. And this was how they made their way back to town and through the streets.

"The final monster has been caught!" the marines shouted.

"The second witch is caught! Our town is safe once more!" the civilians cheered. They came out of their houses and shops and stores and stared like gaping fishes at Harry. It couldn't have been worse if Harry had had tentacles or had green skin and two heads, or something.

Then the accusations started to come.

"You made my child sick, you monster!" a harried mother shouted angrily.

"I didn't catch any fish because of your evil spell!" a fisherman accused.

"My puppy died!" a child shouted before picking up a pebble and throwing it at Harry who ducked as much as he could.

It went on and on like that, with the most ridiculous of accusations being placed at Harry's feet as the crowd got more and more agitated. At one point Harry spotted the utterly shocked and surprised faces of Zoro and Luffy staring out of the window of a restaurant, forks with food halfway to their mouths, but Harry pretended not to know them at all and simply moved on when the marines pulled on the ropes. The marine base with its large, pale towed loomed ahead of them and the gates opened up to let them through before closing after them with a deafening finality.

There was no way going back now.

-x-x-x-x-

They placed him in a small cell where the bars were apparently made out of something called seastone and were perfect for hindering the usage of Devil Fruit powers. And though Harry felt a slight tingling in his magic whenever he touched the bars and it was a little bit harder to access his magic and bend it to his will, he still didn't have too much trouble making his magic do whatever he wished.

Hermione was brought in about an hour later and was thrown into the small seastone-cell right beside Harry's. She looked the worse for wear like Harry did, but there was little that could break a strong woman like her, especially after what they had gone through in the war against Voldemort. Bruises and cuts were nothing compared to that.

"I wondered how long it would take you to show up," she said quietly. They were sitting on the floor by the bars that parted their two cells, leaning in as close as possible to make sure that no one heard what they were saying. Hermione was definitely bruised and had a few cuts, but otherwise she was fine.

"I figured this was the only way to get to you." Harry replied. "Are you alright? What have they done to you?" he asked. He could see that she was fine, but seeing and getting it confirmed were two very different things.

The bushy-haired woman nodded and absentmindedly pushed some hair behind her ear. The tie she had used to keep the brown strands back was long gone. "A bit sore but nothing like what the Death Eaters would have done." She smiled a bit. "Don't worry about it. Worry more about the fact that we don't have any wands anymore – I assume they broke your wand when they caught you? They broke mine."

The green-eyed male nodded. "They broke my holly wand, yes."

"Your holly wand?" Hermione parroted, then her eyes grew wide. "You don't mean to tell me that you brought the Elder Wand here?!" she hissed in shock.

Harry nodded again. "I figured it was best. Besides, what better way to make sure that the Elder Wand doesn't have another master than leaving it in a totally different world? Anyone could have gotten it from Dumbledore's tomb as was proven by Voldemort."

"But what if someone here finds it or takes it from you?!"

"That was always the worry in the Wizarding World too, so I don't see any difference." He smiled. "Besides, it's too late to do anything about it now. Now, tell me what these guys have done to you and what they want. If you had been just a normal criminal I doubt they would have bothered to beat you up like that or remove you from this cell at all."

Hermione snorted but let the topic of the Elder Wand go. She sighed. "It's that marine lieutenant who looks like a spinning top – Adámas Dia Mond. He's crazy for jewels and precious stones and metals of any kind – he has an entire swimming pool filled with precious stones and metal like Scrooge McDuck for heaven's sake! – and this island apparently has very rich deposits of gold and silver and precious stones of all kinds and he is doing everything to get them out and add it to his collection. He uses criminals as labour since the local people would have rebelled against him if he had used and abused them."

"I can see where we as 'criminals' would enter the picture." Harry said dryly. This was like a bad movie back home or something.

"Indeed," Hermione was obviously of the same opinion as he was. "The problem is that Adámas Dia Mond is terrified of people coming and stealing his wealth and therefore everyone who is strong enough to present any sort of threat – especially these people with Devil Fruit powers though I still haven't figured out exactly what that entails – he arrests on the most ridiculous of charges, names a ridiculous sum of money they have to pay in order to go free and then uses them and their special skills in working in the mines until they have worked off the sum. Of course, he adds on extra cost for any food and clothes and sleeping arrangements during the stay so the entire sum is constantly getting bigger and bigger."

The green-eyed male shook his head with a sigh. "Can't say I'm surprised, really. If I had that much money I would be worried about people stealing it, too."

"Oh, but that's not all of it. No, since we two have 'eaten' a previously unknown Devil Fruit that gave us these weird powers of ours we are far too dangerous to let live. So they are going to do what people did during the witch hunts and throw us on a bonfire."

"What?!" Harry blinked. "You can't be serious. This place doesn't seem like it's stuck in the Dark Ages."

"People fear what they can't understand and they don't understand us." Hermione shook her head. She leaned against the seastone-bars and ignored their tiny effects. "So, what happens now? Do we send an emergency signal to Mrs Weasley and have her pull us back into the Wizarding World, or do we try to get out of this mess and continue our search for Sirius and the rest of the D.A. that came with us?"

Harry had to think about that a little bit. He really didn't want to stop searching for Sirius and the others now before they had even really started, but he didn't want to burn to death either. He wasn't like Wendelin the Weird who had enjoyed pretending to be burnt at the stake and allowed muggles to catch her 47 times in various disguises.

In the end Harry sighed. "We can send Mrs Weasley a message to stand ready and then see what happens when they decide to burn us. I know it's dangerous, but I don't want to give up before we have even started to search."

Hermione sighed too but nodded. "Alright. I don't mind. I don't want to stop now either. I want to see this entire world and write it down in a journal and tell everyone about it when we get home."

Smiling Harry watched as Hermione sunk into a deep sleep-like state that would let her talk to Mrs Weasley and let the woman know to stand ready to pull them back if she ever got the signal. Then Harry told her of the odd couple of Zoro and Luffy that he had met and rescued from a hungry death last night, and Hermione's eyes grew wide when he described the way that Luffy's arm stretched.

"That can't be normal, even here in this world." She said. "Perhaps that is one of those Devil Fruit powers?"

"Very likely."

"Simply amazing! A simple fruit that can change the human body like that...!" she trailed off and was off in her own world.

Harry simply chuckled and let her be. They had all the time in the world now – at least until the marines decided that it was time to execute them. He relaxed against the seastone-bars and closed his eyes. The Elder Wand was hidden up his sleeve and within easy reach, and his Invisibility Cloak was hidden up his other sleeve. So they were as ready as possible to get away, all they needed to do now was wait for the opportune moment.

-x-x-x-x-

They were taken out to the grounds in the marine compound where two large wooden platforms had been put up. A sturdy pole was sticking out at the middle of the platform and countless bundles of kindling placed all around each pole. Civilians and marines were gathered and waited eagerly for the spectacle, and they jeered as Harry and Hermione were led out and each to a platform before being tied to the poles. Harry was still tied up with ropes from his shoulders and to his waist, so he couldn't reach the Elder Wand. However, the wand was tied to his forearm and touched his skin and his hand was free from the wrist down so he could still move it around and in the correct wand-movements. He would just have to trust that his magic would work like that.

Adámas Dia Mond and a marine stepped up on the platform where Hermione was tied while his second in command stepped up on Harry's platform. The marine and the second in command were both carrying lit torches, the fire crackling and flickering as if hungry and eager to start eating both wood and human flesh.

"We are gathered here today to witness the execution of two irreparable criminals." Adámas Dia Mond started speaking in his squeaky voice, a small snail with a colourful shell held in front of him which repeated what he said and amplified it like a megaphone so that everyone heard it. "They were offered the chance to pay for their crimes by working it off, but replied with threatening to cast an evil spell over this island and its people!"

Harry snorted at that. Evil spell my foot! They hadn't done anything to warrant being criminals in the first place! He wanted to shout it out for them all to hear, but it was best to simply let the marine lieutenant keep on talking. It was enough of a distraction for people that no one would notice it when Harry's hand started motioning in seemingly random patterns as the green-eyed male tried to make his magic work for him. Hermione kept a sharp eye on what he was doing, ready to start making a fuss to give Harry more time.

"Will you repent, you criminals?" Adámas Dia Mond demanded, pointing at Hermione. "Or shall the fires of hell swallow your sinning soul?"

"Never!" Hermione shouted. "We haven't done anything wrong! We haven't thrown any sort of curse or evil spell on this island or its people, nor have we threatened to do so! Just because we don't want to work like slaves in your mines to give you even more gold and jewels we are being burned at the stake!"

"So you do not repent?" said the marine lieutenant in his squeaky tiny voice.

"Didn't I just say so?!" Hermione's bushy hair seemed to poof out in her anger, making her look like an angry cat. "And what's with those stupid rules that people with Devil Fruit powers are prohibited from stepping onto the island?! How in heaven's name can any stranger know those stupid rules if they haven't grown up on this stupid island?!"

'_Just a little bit more, Hermione! Keep them occupied just a little bit more!'_ Harry thought to himself. He could feel the flow of his magic and was learning how to make it do what he wanted despite not using his wand in the usual way.

"Then repent in hell, you sinners!" Adámas Dia Mond shouted and the two marines with the torches threw them onto the bundles of kindling.

The crowds shouted and got more and more excited, waving their arms around like crazy. Hermione couldn't stop a scream of horror from escaping her and she tugged on her ropes as hard as she could. Harry cursed as the flames leaped around him. He barely had a few seconds to get free and get to Hermione before it was too late.

"Come on, damn it! _Relashio_!" the green-eyed male shouted and forced his magic. The flames were leaping up higher and higher and it was getting unbearably hot and he could hear Hermione shout again, and suddenly the magic snapped into place and the ropes around him fell away into the flames. "_Repello_!" he roared and the flames were forced away from him, flowing out over the screaming public like orange waves, but Harry paid it no mind. He was already running across his charred platform and jumping over the short gap before landing on Hermione's.

With another wave of his hand Harry roared out the extinguishing spell and the flames slowly got smaller and smaller and finally disappeared. Hermione seemed unconscious and hung in her bonds, her clothes, skin and hair singed and smoking, but as far as Harry could see there was no real damage to her. He ignored the warmth as he grabbed the bundles of charred kindling and threw it away, aiming to hit the marines that were trying to get onto the platform and knocking them back. His own clothes and skin was even more singed than Hermione's by the time he reached her and grabbed at the smoking ropes in an attempt to pull them off.

"Hang on! We'll get-!" a stone-hard hit to the back of the head sent Harry rolling along the floor and to the edge of the platform. He groaned and shook his fuzzed head to clear it, and looked up wide-eyed when a large shadow fell over him. Adámas Dia Mond stood over him, one of the enormous arms raised, ready to bring down a head-crushing fist on the green-eyed wizard. Behind the marine lieutenant Harry could see several marines with drawn swords approaching them and several were already raising their swords only to bring them down on Hermione's unprotected form.

At that point things seemed to go into slow motion.

"NO!" Harry roared as he scrambled to his feet. Adámas Dia Mond's arm came down towards Harry's back as the teen tried to run past, and the marines' swords were heading towards Hermione's unconscious head, ready to chop it off.

"Get out of our way!" two familiar voices shouted. An arm suddenly stretched and stretched and stretched before the fist connected harshly with Adámas Dia Mond's face sending the man flying backwards off the wooden stage. A second later the sound of metal meeting metal violently sounded through the shocked silence and the marines with the swords were stopped a hair's breadth from Hermione's hanging head.

"Luffy! Zoro!" green eyes blinked in surprise as Harry realized who had unexpectedly come to his aid.

Luffy's arm snapped back to its normal length as the young man stepped onto the charred platform, and Zoro threw the marines off the platform with a swipe of his three swords – and Harry had to stop up a moment when he realized that the third sword was clamped between the green-haired male's teeth. It was a wonder that Zoro's neck-muscles and teeth could handle the strain of swinging a heavy sword around let alone using it like a normal weapon in a fight.

"Sorry we're a little bit late, Harry," Zoro said around the sword in his mouth, his speech not at all impaired by the weapon. "We couldn't get past the stupid crowds."

Harry didn't know quite what to say to that.

"So you have backup! You are all here just to steal my precious diamonds!" Adámas Dia Mond clambered back onto the platform and was followed by several marines.

"I don't care about your diamonds, you old bastard!" Luffy shouted at the marine, glaring at him. "But I won't let you hurt my friends!"

"Who the hell do you think you are, you little brat?! You have Devil Fruit powers too, don't you?! Well, then you can join those two monsters and burn in he-!" the man's speech was broken off as another of Luffy's punches sent him flying into the group of marines behind him – though they didn't fall off the platform this time around.

"I am Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

The marines gaped. "Don't announce it so casually!"

Harry, trusting that Luffy and Zoro could handle things for the moment, turned to Hermione's unconscious body and untied her, gently lowering her on the wooden floor and checking her vitals and any burns she may have gotten.

"I have had enough of this nonsense! I won't let you escape and take my jewels! _Diamond Spin_!" Adámas Dia Mond started spinning like a spinning top, his arms held out from his body and holding onto swords so that he became a deadly whirlwind. "Die! All of you! Die!"

The marines wisely jumped off the platform and Luffy yelped as he jumped away from the deadly spinning blur. Zolo met the threat head on, catching the two swords with his own but was nearly pushed over the edge of the platform by the force and momentum of the spinning Dia Mond.

"_Gum-Gum Pistol_!" Luffy's voice shouted over the din of the shouting civilians and marines and his arm stretched out over the panicking crowd before it shot towards Dia Mond who was still in a sword-lock with Zoro.

"_Diamond Shield_!" Adámas Dia Mond shouted when he spotted the fist heading towards his face again, and his skin turned pale and smooth and sparkly like a real diamond. Apparently the man also had some Devil Fruit powers and they could make him hard as diamond for Luffy's punch didn't even push a strand of hair on the marine's head. "That won't work on me again, you little abomination!"

"How can you call other people abomination when you have the same powers?!" Zoro demanded and used his inhuman strength to push the diamond-marine away from himself.

"I am nothing like you! I am a marine!" Dia Mond declared as if that was the only thing that counted. The marines finally decided to use their rifles and pistols and pointed them at the four 'criminals' on the platform and fired.

Luffy jumped in front of the speeding bullets without a second thought and his skin stretched backwards wherever the bullets hit him, stretching and stretching until they stopped and then Luffy straightened back up with a shout, shooting the bullets back at the marines like a human slingshot.

"_Diamond Spin_!" he shouted and started spinning again, aiming for Luffy.

"_Impedimenta_!" Harry shouted and Dia Mond's spinning slowed down considerably almost as if he was moving in slow motion. "_Everte Statum_!" the spell sent the slowed down marine lieutenant flying off the platform again and into the panicking crowds – that strangely still hadn't left the army compound no matter how panicky they were.

"Waah! So cool!" Luffy shouted eagerly, nearly jumping up and down as he watched Harry's magic work.

"Pay attention to your surroundings, idiot!" Zoro growled and deflected a sword from hitting Luffy in the back, sending the poor unfortunate marine flying.

Harry stepped back from the edge of the platform and instead walked over to Hermione and picked her up. "Let's just get out of here before the marines manage to surround us." He said to the other two, his voice a bit tight, and jumped off the platform. Zoro and Luffy seemed a bit confused at the sudden retreat but they followed him, the marines scattering from their path in fear – Luffy's _Gum-Gum Pistol_ easily removing those that hesitated.

They ran out of the gate to the compound without any trouble. The civilians certainly weren't going to try to stop them and the marines were still gathering around Adádamas Dia Mond to follow them quite yet. Harry led the way, easily running just as fast as Zoro and Luffy despite carrying Hermione's weight, and he directed them towards the path that would take them back to the north beach where Luffy's and Zoro's boat was still moored. Harry collapsed on the soft sand and gently placed Hermione's body down. He couldn't keep back a few tears that now ran down his face and it soon became obvious why even to Luffy and Zoro.

Hermione wasn't breathing anymore.

She was dead.

Well, not dead exactly. Mrs Weasley had pulled her back to the Wizarding World the second that the bushy-haired young woman had screamed in horror, but Harry still felt as if he had failed to protect her even though they had only been following their plan. Heck, Hermione was going to be totally fine! Harry could feel that she was fine through the bond he had with her through the Weasley matriarch. Hermione was pulled from the flames long before they had done any damage to her, and now she could spend her time reading books and relaxing without having to look after Harry and Ron.

Hermione's body was empty, like the discarded skin of a snake, and the magic that had created it couldn't hold on long without being sustained by Hermione herself. So it exploded into a shower or blue and silver and gold sparks that bounced here and there and everywhere before they disappeared too.

Harry took a deep breath and brushed the tears from his cheeks. Safe or not, it was still freaky to watch your best friend 'die' and he needed a couple of minutes to pull himself together before he got to his feet and met Luffy's and Zoro's eyes. He smiled a bit at the utterly devastated looks that the other two were sporting on their faces.

"Don't worry about Hermione, she went home before anything could happen to her." Harry started brushing the sand off his clothes. "She'll be fine, she isn't dead. She has just gone home." He repeated when Luffy looked ready to cry.

"Home?" Zoro repeated, his voice still a bit chocked up though both he and Luffy seemed to be recovering from the entire ordeal at an almost alarming speed.

"Yup, home. If she can come back then we will see her again soon enough, I am certain of it." Harry smiled. "She and I and several others came here by magical means to search for another friend of ours, but we got separated. So we are now all searching for each other, and our magic makes sure that we go home whenever we wish to. At home we have a lot of magic that can help us out if we get too wounded, Hermione has just activated the magic and gone home."

"Well, if you're certain..." Zoro accepted the explanation easily enough.

"So it's a mystery home like you and she are mystery people?" Luffy summarised with a sagely nod.

"You can put it like that, I suppose." Green eyes twinkled merrily at the thought of being a part of a 'mystery people'. He sighed again and stretched a bit before focusing on his two companions again. "Thanks for coming to our aid; you didn't have to do that."

Luffy laughed, back to his usual self. "Hahaha! Don't worry about it! That's what friends do, right?!"

"Either way, thank you." He couldn't help but like these two crazy wannabe pirates. They were hard to dislike and they were the first friends that Harry had made in this weird world.

Zoro spoke up next. "So what will you do next? Where will you go?"

"Well..." Harry trailed off in thought before he shrugged. "I'm going to continue searching for my friends, of course, but I have no idea where or how to begin." He could always use the _Point Me_-spell but that would only give him a general direction to travel in. He needed a boat to travel in and he needed knowledge of the seas in order to survive, and Harry didn't have either one.

Luffy was suddenly looking very eager. "Why don't you join my crew and come with us to the Grand Line?" he demanded more than suggested.

"Join you?" Harry blinked in surprise. Become a pirate and travel around with Zoro and Luffy and whomever else they picked up, going wherever they wanted? It sounded very good. It would be safer and he would certainly cover more ground like that too than if he was on his own. Besides, Harry was more than certain that Sirius Black wouldn't stay as a civilian or join the straight-laced marines. No, Harry's godfather would definitely fit the life of a pirate, and the rest of the D.A. that had come along into this odd world probably weren't going to simply stay in one place either. If the Grand Line was where everything happened, then everyone Harry knew was probably going to head there.

Luffy nodded so much that his hat nearly fell off. "Yeah! Yeah! I want a mystery man in my crew!"

"Mystery man?" he wasn't certain if he should burst out laughing or take offence. He sounded like some stereotypical character from one of those cheap , tacky soft-cover romance novels that Petunia Dursley had been reading in secret.

"Yeah! So come with us!" this time the straw hat did fall off during Luffy's nodding.

Zoro smirked. "You might as well just come with us for he won't give up once he puts his mind to something." He told Harry.

Harry had to smile. Luffy looked almost like a puppy dog as he kept on moving around Harry and tried to make him agree, and Zoro was far too amused at someone else's misfortune of being annoyed by Luffy. They really were a pair of interesting fellows, and Harry had a feeling that life would be very exciting should he choose to turn into a pirate and go with them to the Grand Line.

"Alright, why not? I will join your crew and go with you to the Grand Line and search for my friends along the way." The Boy-Who-Lived smiled and laughed with Zoro when Luffy jumped up and down cheering.

Their moment of levity was broken by a shouted: "_Diamond Barrage_!" and hard, sharp rocks of purest diamond rained down upon them.

"_Protego_!" the shield Harry cast covered all three of them, and the sharp diamond rocks bounced off with _pings_ and blue flashes of light.

"Ah, the spinning-top guy is back!" Luffy exclaimed in shock.

"We didn't exactly take care to hide our trail." Harry said.

"He's worried about us stealing his jewels and yet he's throwing precious diamonds at us." Zoro muttered and shook his head as he drew his three swords, placing the hilt of the white sword between his teeth.

"Die! _Diamond Spin_!" Adámas Dia Mond and the marines were bearing down on them from the forest, their swords were drawn and ready for use. Luffy and Zoro ran to meet them with wide grins on their faces while Harry stayed back and sent spell after spell into the ranks of the marines. He noticed that neither Zoro nor Luffy were aiming to kill their opponents so Harry did the same, using tickling charms, bat-bogey hexes, leck-locker curses and so on to make sure that his victims stayed down. The more Harry used magic while his wand was still fastened to his wrist, the easier it became to use and it also left Harry's hands free to punch any marine that came close enough.

Luffy was the first one who reached the rampaging Adámas Dia Mond and he managed to stop the man's insane spinning by ducking underneath the two blades and punching the man in the stomach. And though the hit was strong enough to send marine lieutenant flying to the ground it obviously hadn't done much real damage. Actually, Luffy seemed more hurt than Dia Mond did.

"Ahh! You're as hard as rock!" the young pirate captain shouted.

"I am harder! I am diamond! I am the hardest type of material in the world! I can get through anything!" Dia Mond shouted back as he attacked again.

"_Stupefy_!" Harry's red stunner hit Dia Mond in the torso, but it didn't do anything and Luffy had to jump out of the way of another slice-attack. _'Damn it, he has got to have a weak spot!'_ the green-eyed male thought to himself as he defended himself by forcefully blowing away several marines that had tried to sneak up on him.

Kicking out while in midair, Luffy aimed for Dia Mond's head. Dia Mond grabbed the young captain's feet, but it was too late and the soles of Luffy's sandals connected with Dia Mond's face. Harry and Zoro both easily heard the crack of breaking bones as Dia Mond fell backwards. His nose was bent and broken and it was bleeding, and Harry and Zoro shared a look.

"Aaah! He found the lieutenant's weak spot!" the marines cried out.

"The strongest natural material in the world and the idiot didn't protect his face?" Harry wasn't certain if he was asking or stating it.

"And they confirmed it?" Zoro sounded equally as uncertain as Harry as he nodded towards the panicking marines.

Shaking his head, Harry threw a quick stunner right into Adámas Dia Mond's face. It would ensure that the guy was out for another day or so and it would give him, Luffy and Zoro time to get away from this stupid island and its stupid inhabitants. "Let's just get going. I don't think that the marines will follow us now that their leader is fully down for the count."

Indeed, the marines looked ready to simply run far away and forget that they had ever met up with the trio. They grabbed the body of their fallen lieutenant – he had turned back into a human when he had been knocked unconscious – and dragged him off into the woods and back towards the town, shouting threats and curses behind them.

Luffy laughed. "That was fun!" he grinned.

Zoro sheathed his three swords and smirked. "Hardly worth the effort. They are so weak." He muttered as he headed towards the small boat that he and Luffy had arrived in. "Hey, Luffy, get on board. We're casting off."

The young captain with the straw hat grinned and was on board within a second. "Come on, Harry! It's time to go!" he seemed as excited as ever.

Harry cast one last look in the direction of the town, felt the love and feelings of safety that Mrs Weasley sent through the soul-rope, and smiled as he ran over to help Zoro push the boat through the shallows. As soon as the bottom of the boat didn't drag along the sandy bottom, both Harry and Zoro clambered aboard.

"_Viento_!" Harry waved his hand towards the sail and it filled out with a strong breeze at once, making the small boat shoot forwards over the waves.

"Yahooo!" Luffy waved his arms in excitement and Harry and Zoro laughed. "Grand Line! Here we come!"

-x-x-x-x-

There, it's done. Please tell me what you think.

I will perhaps write more on this sometimes in the future, but I'm not sure yet.

At first I fully intended for Hermione to really die, but then I couldn't make myself go through with it. I also intended to make Adámas Dia Mond want to marry either Harry or Hermione and crave their power, but that didn't happen either. So this is what I ended up with. I hope it isn't too terrible.

I chose to put all the special attacks and spells in italics just to be consistent. And I hope that the fight with Adámas Dia Mond wasn't too terrible either, but I just couldn't make myself drag it out like in the anime and manga.

'Adámas', 'dia' and 'mond' are, of course, all a play on the word **diamond** – adámas being the Greek root of the word.

And please don't complain about the way that Harry travels to other worlds. I know that it's almost the same way as in several other one-shots here, not to mention countless other stories. However, there are only so many times that one can find a new way to send Harry to another world, so recycling is a must. Just ignore it if it bothers you.

Thanks to:

Von, Yuki Hikaru, koldy, Deviously Ruined Rose, The-Living-Shadow, xXxOtAkU-444xXx, Shi-koi, Ore no Naruto, ellesra, lildevil425, Zetsuki, Niwasae, deerange88, CleverBast, SnowDusk, zeynel, chineseartist, Dysgrammatophobia, Sin Piedad, AyumiFallassion, twilightdeath, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, Inumaru12, YueLilianPotter, D'MoNiQ, Anna, Key Shinigami, Kairenayui, Siamh, jgood27, OlivineWK, Chosha Kurenai, Twisted Flicker, crazyness101, skyflyte12, ~LuvinU-RIGHTnoW~, and Seithr-Kairy.


	11. HP & Final Fantasy VIII 'slash'

**Plotting Bunnies**

**Disclaimer:** I own only the obvious, the rest belongs to JK Rowling and Square Enix.

**Author's Note:** I haven't played the FFviii game through completely. This plot bunny bit me and I couldn't get rid of it, so you will simply have to torture yourself through it.

**Crossover:** Harry Potter & Final Fantasy VIII

**Pairing:** Squall/Harry

**Warnings:** The horizontal tango with our two boys and a disregard to most of the FFviii plot since I haven't exactly played the game.

**Rating:** M

This is not beta-read!

**One-shot #11: Dawn of a New Century**

In a world where only women could have magical powers without extra help like Guardian Forces, Harry was an anomaly and he soon knew it. It was a good thing that he had decided to read up on this new world first before he started showing off his magical abilities, otherwise he might have been taken as the human incarnation of the god Hyne – i.e. the one who had gifted women with the ability of magic.

That Harry didn't have to transfer his power into someone else before he died would also, most likely, enforce that belief, and all in all it would bring far too much trouble and far too much attention. And since the reason Harry had left Hogwarts and the Wizarding World behind was in order to escape from all the stupid hero-worship and attention he was gifted with after Voldemort's fall, well, it didn't take a genius to realize that Harry was definitely not going to be showing off his powers if he didn't have to.

Nor did he want to suddenly have lots of people knocking on his door, insisting upon becoming his Sorceress Knight – the female title really was sexist in Harry's opinion, but that was another matter entirely.

But where was he going to settle down in this strange new world?

Harry wanted a place that would be big enough where the arrival of a slightly odd stranger wouldn't garner too much attention, but he also didn't want the place to be so big that there were suspicious police and government workers around every corner.

Timber had far too many warring factions and resistance groups to be safe. Dollet was too big and Deling City was even bigger. Shumi Village would have been fun but for the fact that it was located underground, and Esthar City was controlled and terrorized by the Sorceress Adel – definitely not a place that Harry wanted to settle down. In the end Harry decided on settling down on the island of Balamb, in Balamb Town. It was big enough but not too big, and it was full of tourists, and Harry's presence there wasn't going to mean anything.

So that is where Harry finally settled down. He rented a small apartment, made efforts to return his new neighbours' kindness and weathered their curiosity, and got himself a job in a local shop that was focused on selling weapons to the inhabitants and the cadets at the nearby SeeD training ground – Balamb Garden.

All in all it was a very good place to settle down if he did say so himself.

-x-x-x-x-

Harry saw the brunette a week after starting his job as the clerk in the weapons shop in Balamb Town. It was weekend and apparently the students from Balamb Garden got the time to come into town and relax a bit from the gruelling training they endured for the rest of the week.

The brunette in question came into the weapons shop and started browsing, and Harry couldn't help but stare at the black leather bomber jacket, the impressive gunblade and the leather pants. Definitely the leather pants and the attributes that they revealed and hugged tight. It was drool-worthy, and Harry was surprised that he didn't start drowning in his own drool when the unknown brunette turned around revealing the white shirt that was pulled tight over a firm, strong chest.

Harry had never considered himself to be obsessed with sex, but he was a normal male teenager and he would have been blind not to notice the other's attractiveness, and he couldn't help but fantasize about the SeeD cadet dressed in leather.

When Harry's green eyes met the cold ice-blue ones of the other, something seemed to happen between them. It wasn't a spark or a tingling feeling like one would read about in the cheap romance novels. It was an explosion of feelings that hit them both with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face, and Harry was glad that he was leaning against the counter otherwise he was certain that his legs would have given out on him a long time ago.

The blue-eyed male seemed equally affected, but he also seemed to be handling it and hiding it much better than Harry. The young man approached the counter with his purchase, Harry rang it up, and the other paid for it and then was off on his way. All without uttering a single word.

Harry was left feeling dazed and with plenty of material for late-night fantasies.

-x-x-x-x-

The next time they saw each other was a brief glimpse. Harry had been sitting in a small coffee shop near the harbour, enjoying a drink with a few of the friends that he had made in the time that he had been in Balamb Town. The two girls were chatting about the latest fashions and news and on, while Harry and the other boy were discussing the latest models of weapons, both of them hanging over a copy of a _Weapons Monthly Magazine_ that was laid out on the table.

"Look at that shotgun!" the boy was saying and pointing at a picture while Harry nodded along. "Look how sleek it is! And so light! It weights practically nothing, see?" he pointed again.

"But you need more strength and energy to handle the recoil." Harry pointed out as he read through the description on the weapon and its attributes.

The other frowned. "Yeah, I see."

"And just look at the price." Harry continued. "400 Gil just for-" he broke off as a powerful shiver ran through him. It was sudden and unexpected and almost explosive in the way that it made Harry's body react, and the green-eyed teen looked up and out of the coffee shop in time to spot the still-nameless blue-eyed brunette SeeD cadet.

The young man was standing on the other side of the street, once again dressed in his bomber jacket and with the gunblade at his hip, and those ice-blue eyes were staring straight at Harry. The young man paid absolutely no attention to the people around him and his eyes never left Harry's green ones.

It was an intense look. More intense than anything before, even their first meeting.

Harry had developed tunnel vision for nothing else seemed to matter.

"Hey, hey, Harry! Are you listening to me?" Harry's companion snapped his fingers in front of Harry's face and made the green-eyed teen blink and look away from his staring contest with the SeeD cadet. He focused on his companion who was still bemoaning the price of the shotgun. "Only a bloody SeeD would have the money to buy something like that, and even they would have to save money!"

"Ah, yes," Harry replied, but he was distracted. His eyes went back to the window, but the blue-eyed brunette cadet was completely gone.

-x-x-x-x-

More and more often Harry ran into or saw the blue-eyed SeeD cadet with his trademark leather bomber jacket. Whenever they were in the vicinity of each other, a sort of electric feeling would take residence in Harry's body, making him feel restless and twitchy. He wanted to run his hands through the other's wild brown hair, wanted to trace the other's seemingly emotionless features, wanted so much that would probably never happen and he still didn't know the young man's name. Heck, they hadn't even talked to each other yet.

'_This is getting way out of hand.' _Harry sighed one day as he stood behind the counter in the shop. His obsession with the SeeD cadet was seriously getting annoying. His dreams were filled with hot wet fantasies with the blue-eyed brunette as the star, and Harry's heart started beating wildly whenever he even so much as thought about those intense blue eyes and their owner. If he didn't pull himself together soon then he would end up exhausted from a lack of sleep.

The owner of the shop came into the main room from the back, carrying with him several boxes of special ammunition, which he placed behind the counter before writing names on each one. "There."

"There what?" Harry asked curiously.

"This is ammunition for gunblades. Gunblades are hardly used since they are so difficult to use and master, but two of the cadets up at Balamb Garden use gunblades, so I need to order some ammunition every month." The owner explained.

"Ah, you mean the brunette who is always dressed in leather?" Harry's heart picked up speed at the mention of the SeeD cadet.

The older man nodded. "Him and another one. This box of ammunition is for the brunette," he pointed to the box labelled 'Squall Leonhart'. The other box was labelled 'Seifer Almasy'. "This one is for a blond cadet. He always wears a long beige coat. Their gunblades are different makes so they need different ammunition, so remember that. If you give the brunette's ammunition to the blond then not only will you have a very unhappy customer, but you could also possibly jam the gunblade mechanism. And that is very bad for business, understand?"

Harry nodded quickly. He wasn't about to go and make such a mistake but not for the reasons that the owner had mentioned.

Now that Harry finally knew Squall's name there was no way that the green-eyed teen could ever forget anything that had to do with the brunette.

It was kind of pathetic just how far gone he was.

-x-x-x-x-

"If you're so in love with him, why don't you simply go up to him and ask him out on a date?" one of the girls suggested as they watched Harry and Squall stare at each from opposite ends of the book shop.

"I can't do that!" Harry hissed. His one attempt at asking someone out – namely Cho Chang back in fourth year at Hogwarts – was a disaster that seemed to be ingrained in stone, and Harry simply couldn't bring himself to repeat such an embarrassing situation.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Honestly. What's so wrong about going up to him and asking him out?"

"He'd probably say no, for one."

She snorted. "Not with the way the two of you have been mooning over each other. With such intensity it's only a matter of time before the two of you snap and either end up beating each other up or fucking like rabbits right here in front of everyone."

The green-eyed teen flushed bright red and gaped at her.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, you know I am right. Everyone knows I am right." She suddenly seemed thoughtful and tapped her chin as she mused over something before suddenly grinning and snapping her fingers. "Perhaps he's one of those very shy people and that's why he hasn't approached you yet? You should give him a sign that you're open and available and _very_ willing."

"Wh-wha-?" Harry croaked, partially in shock.

She didn't seem to notice at all being far too gone into her little fantasy world. "Yeah, you know, like, wink at him. Or ask him out. Or go over there and kiss him senseless."

Harry shook his head so hard he feared that it would fall off. "Hell no! You've been reading far too many trashy romance novels!"

The girl giggled. "Aww, you're so cute, Harry. To think that you would be shy as well." She sighed and patted his arm in a motherly fashion. "Don't worry, I will help you get the man of your dreams."

"Please, no!" the green-eyed teen protested, but it was far too late. She was fully determined and it was impossible to dissuade her now.

Harry could only stand by and watch as his doom loomed ever closer.

-x-x-x-x-

As had been pointed out it had only been a matter of time before the intense attraction between the two of them had turned into hate at which point they would have tried to kill each other, or into intense, hot sex. Personally Harry was rather glad that it had turned into sex, and not only because Squall was such a hunk of a young male (who promised to continue being a hunk for the rest of his life), but also because there was no way that Harry would be able to defeat someone who had been trained as a SeeD for who knew how many years. Not without revealing his magical powers, and that was a big no-no.

So here Harry was, completely naked and pinned to his bed, Writhing and panting and screaming as he ran his hands through Squall's wild brown hair like he had wanted to do since the first day Harry had seen the SeeD cadet. Squall was equally naked and panting and groaning, and he was currently in the process of fucking the green-eyed teen through the mattress, the bed and the floor all in one go.

Who would have thought that someone who seemed so cold and aloof could be so incredibly passionate?

Who would have thought that a few drinks (courtesy of Harry's friends) were just the thing to make Squall to lose enough of his iron control to grab Harry, find the closest private room and proceed to fuck him senseless?

Harry certainly wasn't complaining – not that he had much brain power to use on complaining. Most of his focus was on just how good he felt and the tightening in his loins that was building at a shocking pace before it sprung free, making Harry cum and triggering Squall's own release. Despite the post-orgasmic bliss all Harry could focus on was to get more. It was like a drug that he had suddenly gotten a taste of, and Squall didn't seem to mind at all as they went for another round. And a third one after that again.

Come morning Harry's hips and lower back were killing him; the green-eyed male could barely even shift in bed let alone actually get out of it. Squall didn't seem to have the same problem, but he did seem to be feeling a bit awkward now that the alcohol had left his system and he realized what had happened during the night. Hell, there was a teeny tiny flush on the serious young man's cheeks, and Harry enjoyed that immensely.

"Don't think about it," Harry finally said after watching in amusement as Squall dressed in an awkward silence. "We just had a one-night stand of the best sex I've ever had-" not to mention that it was the only sex Harry had ever had, "-and that's all. As soon as I can actually move again I'll be your everyday shop clerk and you'll be a SeeD cadet and that's it."

"Hn." Squall agreed before he left, and that was that.

Or, well, it was supposed to be the end of it. But it wasn't, far from it. In fact, that only seemed to be the beginning.

Three weeks later Harry found himself in the same position and with Squall fucking him again. And two weeks after that. And the week after that again. In the end it seemed like whenever Squall had the time to leave Balamb Garden he came to search for Harry and the two of them ended up having sex.

But things changed over time. The sex wasn't just sex anymore. Harry slowly noticed that it had gone from friends-with-benefits/one-night stand type of sex, to sex between real lovers. As in very serious boyfriends-lovers. The biggest clue was that the sex stopped being so impersonal. They spent more and more time on foreplay and cuddling both before and afterwards, and Squall became more possessive. First there was one small hickey on Harry's neck, and it went away before the day was over. Then came a few more, and a few more and they lasted longer and longer, and in the end it was a very common thing for Harry to have possessive hickeys on his neck that were visible around his clothes – and some hickeys that were hidden at private places on his body that only Squall had access to. More often than not perfect finger-shaped bruises adorned Harry's hips, and the green-eyed teen always flushed when he remembered exactly what had led to all the hickeys and bruises to adorn his body.

The final nail in the coffin – so to speak – was that Squall one day out of the blue actually asked Harry out on a date. Well, he didn't phrase it that way and it was only to the small coffee shop near the harbor – the same coffee shop that was full of tourists – but Harry wasn't about to complain because from that point on the two of them considered themselves a real couple.

No one was surprised, they had considered the two brunettes an item since the second time they had had a night together, but no one said anything. The teachers of Balamb Garden just seemed happy to have Squall open up (however minimally) and care about someone, and the people in Balamb Town just thought that Squall and Harry were a cute couple.

-x-x-x-x-

August 23rd might not seem like a special date to many people. It was like any other day in the aspect that it wasn't a national holiday, nor was it a day something big – like the marriage of a princess or peace on earth – happened. So most people simply went on their way, totally ignoring the date and considering it just another day in their lives.

But it was an important date to Harry: it was Squall's birthday, and the SeeD cadet was finally turning seventeen.

It also denoted the beginning of the end of Squall's time as a SeeD cadet. In a few short weeks the serious and seemingly cold young man would be taking the final exam and graduate from Balamb Garden. He would become a full-fledged SeeD operative, and Harry wasn't quite certain what he thought about that. SeeD would then send Squall all over the world and that was all nice and good, but what would happen to Harry during that time? What would happen to them? Would there still be a 'them'?

Harry shook his head so that his hair flew around his face. _'Think about such things when the time comes. Now I have to focus on getting through the forest and to Balamb Garden. Alive.'_

That's right. Harry had gotten it into his head to surprise Squall with a visit at his school. It was a Friday and after school hours so Harry was certain that he wouldn't be disturbing the students at the school. And one more day without training wasn't going to kill Squall – the man could pass the final exam with his eyes closed! – but Harry might just kill the blue-eyed male if he continued being such a recluse. They hadn't seen each other in almost two weeks, and that was more than Harry was willing to take.

Heck, Harry wasn't even going to demand sex or a lot of Squall's time, he just wanted to see his boyfriend of almost a year, spend an hour or two with him, give him his present and he would be happy with that.

With such a goal in mind Harry had wrapped the gift he had gotten for Squall, put it in a hip-pouch along with a few specimens of the one sweet that he knew Squall liked, and had bravely walked to the edge of Balamb Town. He now stood at the road and stared at the winding earth path that led off into the forest. It was a wide path – wide enough for vehicles – and the trees were well cleared away, but it was still dangerous to travel that way without escort. Most of the monsters that lived in the forest may be easy to handle for the students at Balamb Garden, but they were just the opposite for a normal civilian.

Especially if said civilian wanted to keep it under wraps that he was, in fact, a Sorceress – a name that he still found to be rather sexist and biased.

"Well, there's nothing to it but to do it and hope that it all goes for the best." Harry muttered to himself, sent a quick prayer to whatever god was up there that he wouldn't be attacked and wouldn't have to use any magic while he travelled through the forest, and then took his first few steps along the road that connected Balamb Town with Balamb Garden.

Harry's hopes of getting to Balamb Garden without being attacked were dashed about a quarter of the way through the forest. Despite the fact that the green-eyed teen had kept to the very middle of the road and had been walking as fast as he could without actually being jogging or running, he was still discovered by the creatures of the forest. The first that came at him as an odd, large blue bug with pincers the size of a seven-year-old child. It buzzed around him and flew at him in an attempt to decapitate him, but Harry ducked out of the way, grabbed a sturdy branch and hit it as hard as he could when it came at him again. The Bite Bug fell to the ground helplessly and Harry proceeded to beat the stuffing out of it until it died. It left behind a Scan-spell which Harry had no use for, but he pocketed it and decided to give it to Squall who definitely had more use of it.

The blue Bite Bugs continued to attack at an alarmingly frequent rate, but they were rather easy enemies and there was only one at the time since Harry kept to the middle of the road. Not many of the annoying bugs seemed willing to brave the open space on the road, and the green-eyed teen counted himself blessed for that. He didn't think he would be able to beat a whole swarm of Bite Bugs if they decided to come at him, not without using magic at least and he didn't want to chance that.

Right before Harry reached the gates of Balamb Garden he was confronted with the biggest caterpillar he had ever seen, and the Caterchipiller didn't hesitate in attacking him. Harry ducked and avoided the attacks as best he could, but the damn thing was quicker than it seemed and a simple stick wasn't going to cut it this time around. In pure desperation Harry flung the lone Fira-spell he had gotten from the Bite Bugs at the Caterchipiller, and that seemed to work fine but it didn't work enough because the monster was still alive and wriggling and attacking.

In the end Harry had to take out his wand and use his magic in order to defeat the Caterchipiller. Magic danced under his skin, itched almost painfully along his back as if wanted to break free before a good Reducto-spell removed the obstacle in an embarrassingly easy way, but Harry didn't gloat over that. He looked around nervously and hoped that no one had seen him use magic, and ran the last distance to the Balamb Garden gates.

The entrance to the school was very nice. If Harry didn't know better he could swear that he had just entered some futuristic science-fiction high-tech park rather than a school for soldiers. To get into the school proper you had to pass through the reception and for that you needed a pass and, most likely, an appointment. But the young woman manning the reception booth seemed utterly taken in when Harry explained his reason for being there and exactly who he was visiting, and she eagerly granted him a pass and let him through into the school. The school itself was amazing. Not like Hogwarts with its old-fashioned castle and magic, but in a futuristic and high-tech way, and Harry spent a couple of minutes simply standing on the walkway of the lobby.

There was a computer terminal there in the large, open lobby, but Harry had absolutely no idea of how to use it, so he didn't even try. Instead he waited and looked around hoping that someone would help him. The students that passed him were either too busy or they didn't seem to care at all, and the teachers were nowhere to be seen. Harry might have ended up waiting until doomsday came if one girl hadn't taken pity on him.

Small, dressed in a yellow outfit and with her shoulder-long brown hair curving outwards at the ends, she seemed far too young and definitely far too kind to be a student here. "Hello!" she said just as cheerful as her yellow dress. "I'm Selphie Tilmitt and I'm a student here! May I help you?"

"Ah, uhm, I hope so," Harry replied and flushed slightly. "My name is Harry and I'm from the town and, uh, I'm looking for my boyfriend. I wanted to surprise him on his birthday."

"Awww," she nearly squealed, nearly jumping up and down at the cuteness of the situation. It was a typical female reaction. "And who's your boyfriend if I may ask? I can help you find him if you wish?"

"That would be wonderful, I'm afraid that I would get lost in this maze of yours that you call a school." Harry couldn't help but smile right back at her. She was so upbeat and happy that it was impossible not to be the same around her. "And I'm looking for Squall Leonhart. He has brown hair and blue eyes, and wears black leather. And he uses a gunblade."

Selphie seemed utterly shocked at that, practically gaping at Harry and continued gaping and staring until Harry felt rather awkward and finally asked her what was wrong. At that point she shook her brown head wildly in an attempt to wake herself up, and then she did some odd sort of jump-dance.

"I knew that Squall couldn't be as cold and heartless as he seemed! Ha!" she turned to Harry and grabbed his arm before she proceeded to drag him through the school at a rapid pace. "Come on, I know where Squall is! He got into a fight with another one of the students – Seifer – and he's in the Infirmary."

Harry's heart nearly leapt into his throat. "Seifer?" he inquired hopefully, praying that Squall was alright. Squall had never been very talkative, but Harry knew that he and Seifer had a rivalry going and a rather violent rivalry at that, too.

"No, Squall is. Seifer got out of there yesterday." Selphie replied cheerfully as she dragged him through the corridors, until they finally reached the doors to the Infirmary. "Don't worry about him, Harry, Squall is fine. He just took a bit of a hit to the head and the doc wanted to keep him there overnight. Doctor Kadowaki?" she called out as she entered the Infirmary.

A brown-haired woman in a white lab coat looked up from the papers she had been going through. "Yes? How can I help you, Miss Tilmitt?"

"Oh, it's not me who needs help! It's this guy here." She pushed Harry further into the Infirmary. "This is Harry and he's here to visit Squall."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. She was surprised that someone came to visit Squall, obviously, but she didn't seem too impressed.

Selphie grinned and leaned forwards as if to impart a great secret. "Harry is Squall's boyfriend."

That certainly had the doctor's attention and Harry flushed slightly under her surprised scrutiny. Then she nodded and pointed at a bed at the end of the room, a dividing screed having been placed around it to keep the occupant from being seen by the people who came into the Infirmary. "He's over there. He should be waking up soon, and I think he would be happier to see your face rather than mine."

"Ah, thank you." Harry muttered and flushed even more. Selphie bid him a cheery farewell before she left and the doctor retreated to her office to give them a little bit more privacy, while Harry headed towards the shielded bed and sat down on the edge, watching Squall's sleeping face.

He had a new scar on his face. It was rather long, starting at the middle of his forehead and running at an angle between his eyebrows and ending underneath the corner of his left eye. Squall was lucky that he hadn't lost that eye when he had gotten the scar, and for all he knew it could have damaged an optical nerve and give Squall reduced eyesight in that left eye. Harry really wanted to whack the brunette over the head a few times for being so stupid, but there was no point in doing that while the man was unconscious.

'_As soon as he wakes up and it is proven that he hasn't got a concussion or any other wound, then I'll whack him a few good ones for worrying me like this.' _The green-eyed teen grumbled silently as he reached out and carefully, gently brushed away some of the bangs that fell into Squall's face. Before Harry could pull his hand away a bigger one shot up and strong fingers wrapped around Harry's wrist and held it tightly in place. Ice-blue eyes slowly opened and focused on Harry, and the green-eyed teen was relieved to discover that Squall's left eye didn't seem impaired at all by the wound he had suffered.

"Good day, sleepy head," Harry smiled down at Squall, leaned over and placed a feathery kiss on the other's lips. "How are you feeling? Is the wound bothering you in any way?"

Squall didn't reply and instead sat up. "Harry? What are you doing here?" he asked. "Don't tell me you came here to the Garden all alone."

"Alright, I won't tell you, then."

Ice-blue eyes narrowed. "Harry, that was very dangerous! You should know better."

Harry snorted. "You should have known better too, but that didn't stop you, now did it?" he traced the new scar with a feather-light touch.

"Hn." Was Squall's response as he got off the bed slowly, testing his balance and making sure that he wasn't too muddled in the head from the ordeal or any drugs he might have been given. Finding everything to be fine, ice-blue eyes once again turned to look at Harry. Though he obviously still didn't like the fact that Harry had braved the dangerous road from the town to the school, it was equally as obvious that arguing about it wasn't going to do any good. They were both too stubborn.

Squall sighed. "What are you doing here, Harry?" he asked as he took Harry's hand and pulled the green-eyed teen off the bed and notified Doctor Kadowaki before they left the Infirmary.

Harry interlaced their fingers properly, and he smiled when Squall didn't pull away even though the cadet was clearly feeling uncomfortable with such a public show of affection. Squall was incredibly cute when he was feeling awkward, in Harry's opinion. "What I am doing here?" the green-eyed teen parroted and stepped closer to his boyfriend. "Well, it might have something to do with your birthday, you know."

"You came all the way here just for that?"

"It's not 'just for that'!" he whacked Squall's arm and frowned. "I think it to be a very important day, Squall, and I have a gift for you, too."

Squall blinked, the only sign of surprise he would allow himself. He had obviously not expected that. Harry sighed. Sometimes his boyfriend – who had spent his entire life being cold and pushing people away – could be incredibly dense.

-x-x-x-x-

"-and this cheerful girl named Selphie showed me to the Infirmary." Harry finished the tale of how he came to be at Balamb Garden. Squall was currently giving Harry a quick tour of the school and they were currently on their way to the Cafeteria. It was far into the day and they were both rather hungry. Besides, there were supposed to be hot dogs today, and the Garden's hot dogs were famous even amongst the civilians in town.

"Hn." Squall's reply wasn't much, but Harry didn't expect more from him – especially not when they were in public, and currently all people they passed turned around to stare in surprise and shock at their interlaced hands.

The Cafeteria was nicely designed. It was circular and the counter was in a crescent shape. Students were sitting around the room and occupying the round tables, and a great many of them were also standing around the counter, shouting and waving their arms and trying to get to a hot dog or two. Harry stared at the spectacle, blinking in surprise at the viciousness that went on and all for only one hot dog or two. It was insane.

"Uh, perhaps this wasn't such a good idea..." the green-eyed teen mumbled as the students continued to fight for the last hot dogs.

Squall sighed and he pushed Harry to sit at one of the free tables before he dove into the chaos around the counter and somehow managed to get two hot dogs for each of them. And Harry had to admit that the hot dogs deserved their reputation, they were damn good and they were filling. It had been such a long time since the green-eyed teen had eaten hot dogs like this, so he enjoyed it immensely. That he was eating with Squall was a great bonus, too.

"No! No! No! No! Let me through! Hot dogs!" someone suddenly shouted and a blond male ran into the Cafeteria, trying desperately to get to the counter and to the hot dogs he was, apparently, craving. But unless he wanted to beat the crap out of everyone there (something he was obviously not about to do) then he wasn't going to get any hot dogs. Hell, only three more people got hot dogs before the three women behind the counter declared that there were no more. Students all around groaned in thorough disappointment, and the blond newcomer fell to his knees, his face the perfect picture of utter horror.

Harry couldn't help but snicker slightly at what he had seen while Squall barely bothered to raise an eyebrow. Apparently it was a common sight to see the young blond male with the tattoo covering the left side of his face loudly making a fool of himself. Not only was the man's face tattooed, but his bangs weren't hanging down like with most people. Instead they were spiked and stood straight into the air in the weirdest way Harry had ever seen while the rest of the blond strands were slicked back. He was dressed in sturdy boots, with blue baggy jeans that barely reached past his knees, a black vest over a black beater and black finger-less gloves with metal knuckles covered his hands.

"Hey there!" Harry called out to get the newcomers attention and then held out his last hot dog. "Want it?" he asked, smiling at the utterly shocked look on the tattooed teen's face. Squall simply watched the interaction with interest, but he didn't offer his own hot dog and ate it himself.

The blond teen shook off his surprise and shock and threw himself on the offered hot dog as if it were life saving, gobbling it down like a maniacal black hole. The poor food disappeared almost faster than Harry could blink, and the green-eyed teen couldn't decide if he should be disgusted or amused by it all.

"Thanks, man! You really saved my life there!" he grinned widely.

"No problem!" Harry replied with a small giggle.

"My name is Zell Dincht, and it's very nice to meet you!" Zell pointed a thumb at himself when he declared who he was.

Harry continued smiling. This man seemed like a male version of Selphie. "Nice to meet you, I'm Harry."

"Great to meet you!" he turned to look at the calm Squall. "Hey, I know you, man! I've seen you around! You're that gunblade wielder! Squall, right?"

Squall simply gave a miniscule nod.

"It's great to meet you both!" Zell said as he sat down at their table without invitation.

The three of them talked together for a while – well, Zell and Harry talked while Squall stayed quiet unless he was asked a question – but in the end Zell had to leave citing that he had to get some homework done and do some reading for the exam. The blond gave a cheerful farewell before he left the Cafeteria, patting his stomach and moaning about just how good the hot dog had been. Harry had gained yet another friend that day and all over one single hot dog.

"I don't think your reputation of being cold and aloof will survive this day," the green-eyed teen teased his taller companion as they walked through the corridors and towards Squall's rooms in the Dormitory. It was getting late and dark outside, and Squall refused to let Harry trek all the way back to the town in the approaching darkness. Besides, students were allowed to have friends sleep over if it was a weekend so there was no problem there.

"I got those hot dogs for you." Squall's voice was quiet.

"I know, and I'm really grateful." Harry grinned and hugged Squall's arm. "But Zell looked so cutely pathetic back there, like a kicked puppy or something, and I just couldn't resist. Forgive me?" he looked up at those intense ice-blue eyes, battering his eyelashes like a girl and knowing he was overdoing it by far.

Squall snorted which was as near laughing as he would get without being totally drunk. "He did look like a kicked puppy," Squall agreed as he opened the door that led into the space he shared with another student. They shared a living room and a bathroom, but they had each their own room. The entire living arrangement was large enough for the two of them, but not too large, and it was very comfortable. The other student had left for the weekend which would give the two lovers all the privacy they might have wanted.

They had just sat down on the bed in Squall's bedroom when the green-eyed teen remembered something very important.

"Oh! Your gift! I almost forgot!" Harry exclaimed and reached into the hip-pouch and pulled it out. "It's not much, I know," he muttered, feeling a bit awkward, and handed it over to Squall. "But I hope you'll like it."

The taller brunette took the small gift and carelessly ripped the wrapping paper – it wasn't fancy or anything so it didn't matter anyway – before carefully opening the fabric that was the last layer of protection. In his palm lay two chain necklaces, the pendant shaped as a lion's head with the mane being blown backwards. The pendant flowed down into a partial cross while the other, the key chain, simply stayed as a lion's head.

"Uhm, I thought it would go well with the Griever-motif on your gunblade. I saw it in a _Weapons Monthly Magazine_ and thought it fit you, but if you don't like it I am sure you can exchange it to something else. I made sure to get it so that it could be exchanged for something else." The former Boy Who Lived muttered when Squall didn't say anything. This was getting more and more awkward. Didn't Squall like it?

Squall was silent for another while, looking at the chain necklace and the key chain, studying and contemplating them thoroughly before he finally moved. Harry twitched a bit when the blue-eyed male got off the bed, certain that Squall was about to throw the pendants away, and it took a moment before Harry could gather up the courage to look up and see what was going on. Squall had taken out the case where he usually kept his gunblade when he didn't use it, and was attaching the key chain to the very end of the handle so that it dangled like a small charm. The chain necklace was already in place around Squall's neck, resting on the white shirt that covered his chest.

Harry flushed and looked away, feeling silly at just how glad and giddy he was when he saw Squall wearing that necklace. He had been certain that the serious teen would have declined such jewellery, but instead he was treating it on equal footing with his beloved and prized gunblade. It made Harry stupidly deliriously happy.

That night during the birthday-sex, Squall's new pendant hung between them and rested on Harry's chest. And later on, when they lay together in the bed that was a bit too small for two people forcing Harry to use Squall more or less like a mattress – not that either Harry or Squall complained – the pendant glittered faintly in the yellow light let in through the large window and the thin curtains.

-x-x-x-x-

After that one time when Harry had travelled alone from town to the Garden, Squall had absolutely refused to let him do it again and insisted on escorting the green-eyed teen both to and from the Garden. Not that they had the chance to see each other much now that Squall's final SeeD exams were approaching at the speed of light. In fact they barely managed to see each other twice in that time, and both times it was because Squall had to go to town in order to stock up on ammunition for his gunblade. One of the worst things that could happen was to run out of ammunition right in the middle of the exam. That was a guaranteed way to fail.

"I'm cheering for you." Harry said and let his fingers trace Squall's serious face.

The exam was two days away and this was Squall's last run into town for supplies.

"I don't want to find you waiting for me in the Garden when I get back," Squall said, his arms tightly wound around Harry's waist in a possessive hold. "We will be leaving and coming back from the harbour here in town, so there is no point to go to the school. Promise that you will stay in town?"

"Yes, yes, I'll be staying here. Don't worry about me, worry about yourself and stay focused during the exam." Harry smiled and pulled the taller male's head down so that he could kiss Squall's lips.

When the day for the exam came Harry kept away from the harbour. Squall needed to keep focused on what was about to happen and Harry didn't want to get in the way or distract his boyfriend. SeeD exams weren't like exams at Hogwarts, you could die during a SeeD exam.

Harry spent the entire day on pins and needles. The Balamb newspaper had that morning run a big article about how Galbadian forces had attacked Dollet, speculating if small Balamb was the next to fall to Galbadian forces, and Harry had a sneaking suspicion that that was where the SeeD exam was to take place and where Squall and the other cadets had been sent.

Time seemed to crawl by slower than a snail's pace, the day never seemed to end and the stupid customers seemed to need help with the most basic and stupidest of things, and it annoyed Harry to no end. Harry worried and fretted. Was Squall okay? Was he lying dead somewhere in Dollet's streets? Was he captured by the enemy? There were so many things that could happen and Harry kept on fearing every single one of them. Harry was suddenly understanding what Mrs Weasley must have felt every time her children were dragged into one of those wild adventures at Hogwarts and especially that last battle in the Ministry for Magic when they had been fifteen years old. It was a wonder that Mrs Weasley – with those wild children of hers – hadn't suffered a heart attack yet. Harry sure felt like suffering one himself right then, and he was only worrying about Squall who was one of the best cadets at Balamb Garden.

In the end it got so bad that the owner of the shop sent Harry into the back rooms to take stock and to write up what they had to order more of.

"You're scaring away the customers with the way you're fretting." The owner said as he pushed Harry into the back room. "Get your mind off of that handsome man of yours and focus on something else. Time will fly past."

"Easier said than done." Harry grumbled as he picked up the clipboard that held the list of wares in the store. The owner laughed and left him in the backroom. The green-eyed teen sighed heavily and started on his work. He was certain that it wouldn't help him much, was certain that time would continue to go backwards rather than forwards, but in the end he was shocked to notice that time had suddenly flown by and the people out in the shop were chatting excitedly about the return of the SeeD cadets.

Harry dropped the clipboard and the pen and jumped up, fully intent on simply running out of the store and to the harbour and make sure that his Squall was doing fine and that he wasn't wounded or dead. However, those plans were put to a very abrupt halt when the green-eyed teen collided with something hard and blue as strong, familiar arms wrapping around him to keep him from falling to the ground.

In the most embarrassing and cliché way, Harry had managed to be surprised by and run into Squall, and the green-eyed teen flushed at the situation. What made the flush even brighter was that Harry saw Squall in the SeeD uniform for the first time in his life, and damn, but Squall looked even more handsome in the blue uniform with the protective pauldrons on his shoulders and the black boots and belt and... well, Harry nearly drooled.

Deciding to make the best of the situation – and not wanting to suffer through an awkward silence – Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Squall's neck and pulled the taller male closer as Harry rose up on his toes and planted a great big kiss on the blue-eyed teen's lips. "Welcome back. How did the exam go?"

Squall actually groaned and instead of answering he tightened his grip on Harry and proceeded to kiss the green-eyed teen senseless. Obviously the blue-eyed male didn't want to talk about the exam, so Harry had a sneaking suspicion that something had happened. He wasn't going to ask about it again though, not unless Squall wanted to talk about it. For Harry it was more than enough that Squall was alive and well – though the man was definitely bruised and his clothes were smudged with dirt and something that looked suspiciously like blood.

Groaning happily when Squall deepened the kiss, Harry wouldn't have minded doing it right then – apart from the fact that they were in the shop, partly hidden in the entrance to the storage room, with the customers staring at them in complete amusement. It was amazing that Squall had actually showed this sort of physical affection in the middle of such a public place, but Harry wasn't protesting at all. He was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Awww! That's so cute!" Selphie's recognisable voice squealed happily.

Harry and Squall pulled apart at once, the green-eyed teen flushing slightly while Squall glared at the interruption.

"Man, that's rather hot!" Zell grinned at them, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"How did the exam go?" Harry asked in an attempt to divert the three cadets' attention before Selphie and Zell annoyed Squall enough for the ice-blue eyed male to pull out his gunblade and start using it.

Both Selphie and Zell turned a lot less cheerful. Selphie frowned a bit while Zell snorted. "Seifer, that bastard, made trouble for us all." The spiky-haired blond male muttered angrily, but neither he nor Selphie said anything else about what had happened, and it was already obvious that Squall wasn't going to talk anytime soon.

But Selphie and Zell couldn't stay serious or depressed or brooding for long – that was Squall's forte as Zell teasingly pointed out – so the four teens were soon seen relaxing around the town, stopping in one store or another to look at something or buy a snack. Harry was heading with them back to the Garden. They would be getting the results from their exam later that day and Harry wanted to be there when Squall got his results and, if he passed, his SeeD rank.

They had left the town and were about halfway on the road to the Garden when they were attacked. If it had simply been Bite Bugs or Caterchipillars then they wouldn't have had any trouble at all, but it was something much worse than that. Somehow a T-Rexaur had wandered from the depths of the forest and onto the road, and the red monster with the sharp teeth made Harry stumble backwards in horror and reach for his wand. Oh, he had read about the monsters and seen pictures, but there was a bit difference between seeing something in a book and coming face to face with it in real life.

Squall, Zell and Selphie all took up position in front of Harry, protecting the civilian in their midst, not that it helped much when a swarm of Bite Bugs and several Caterchipillars showed up on the path. The teens were now surrounded and their exits were blocked, so they would have to fight their way out of this situation.

"Are the monsters supposed to gather in such large groups and attack like this?" Harry asked as he retreated from the snapping jaws of a Bite Bug.

"Definitely not." Squall's voice was hard and serious, his attention fully focused on the T-Rexaur.

"How are we gonna do this, man?" Zell kept eying the monsters that had appeared on their right flank, trusting Squall to watch the T-Rexaur and Selphie to watch the left flank. Harry may be only a civilian, but apparently Zell trusted him enough to watch their backs and at least warn them of a possible attack. "We need at least two people to be able to take on that beast, and that leaves only one to take care of a horde of monsters and protect Harry. It spreads us kinda thin here."

But there was nothing they could do about it. Squall and Zell focused on the large dinosaur while Selphie helped Harry to beat the Bite Bugs and Caterchipillars into submission. Harry kept his wand at hand, but he used a normal branch as much as he could. He had once briefly wondered what would happen if he told Squall about his magical powers, but had quickly come to the conclusion that nothing good could come out of something like that. It was probably very selfish of Harry to think like that, especially in this life threatening situation, but he wanted to enjoy what he had with Squall as long as he could for Squall would probably leave Harry after learning about Harry's magic.

However, they were being totally overrun by the monsters around them – especially the three cadets who had just come back from an exhausting exam – and it was much better to have Squall alive even if the male did hate Harry's every molecule. And that went for Zell and Selphie too. Selphie was having trouble with the Bite Bugs and the Chaterchipillars, Zell was shifting his focus between the hordes of bugs and the red-skinned dinosaur and Squall was focused fully on the enormous beast.

'_I can't let them die.' _That was the prevailing thought in Harry's mind as he watched a Caterchipillar manage to get a good whack in on poor Selphie. Whipping out his wand, Harry pointed it at the enormous bug and threw a _Bombarda_ at it. The thing blew up and gore and fleshy bits rained down around them. But Harry didn't stop to watch this macabre rain, he was already throwing hexes and curses and spells at the other bugs in the vicinity, and soon there was none of the pesky annoyances left. The only thing to deal with now was the T-Rexaur, and from the way that Squall and Zell had been going at it, it seemed that the enormous red dinosaur was weak to the element of ice. Harry threw all the ice-spells he knew at it and, coupled with the attacks from the three SeeD cadets, they managed to finally defeat the T-Rexaur.

Bloodied and weak the four teens simply collapsed right there on the road. They needed time and potions to recover from the fight, but that wasn't what was on the three SeeD cadets' mind at the moment. The three of them were staring wide-eyed at Harry and obviously trying to figure out what the hell was going on – or, rather, trying to figure out how it could be possible.

Harry ducked his head and stared at the ground where he was sitting. He bit his lip nervously and didn't dare to look up at the other three. He knew that they would be staring at him, but he didn't want to see Squall's betrayed expression. He was certain that there had to be betrayal in all their eyes and he didn't want to see that at all.

"Harry, you..." Zell trailed off, his voice still shocked.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Selphie sounded a bit calmer than Zell.

The green-eyed male winced. "Too much trouble," he muttered. "First male Sorceress since Hyne isn't going to go unnoticed."

Zell nodded slowly. "I... suppose I can understand that."

"But what about Knights?" Selphie bit her lip. "You need it, right?"

"That's just even more trouble. Become famous by being the Knight of the first male Sorceress, many would jump at the opportunity to brag. And I've done well without a Knight so far." Harry sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I hope you can understand why."

None of them said anything else on their way to the Garden, but the worst thing was that Squall hadn't said a single thing at all in the first place. The young man walked next to Harry so Harry was pretty certain that Squall didn't feel disgusted, but – then again – Squall was too good at hiding his emotions and even after all this time the green-eyed male had some trouble reading them. And now was one of those times. Was Squall horrified at this discovery? Did he hate Harry for not telling him about the entire Sorceress-powers thing? Did he think that harry didn't trust him? Had Harry lost Squall's trust by not telling him? Did he think that Harry found him unworthy? Did he want to be Harry's Knight as cliché as that sounded? Did he think that this made Harry some sort of odd hermaphrodite and able to be impregnated?

Alright, that last one was way overboard, but Harry was panicking so he was entitled to a little bit of insanity.

Nothing was said even when they reached Balamb Garden. Zell and Selphie simply went to their own dorms to take showers and change into clean clothes while Harry followed Squall to his dorm room and simply sat on the bed while Squall got cleaned up and changed. Everything was done in silence, so when there came a knocking on the door Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. Selphie entered the room and a few minutes later Zell came too. The two newcomers settled in the room – Selphie on the bed beside Harry while Zell sat down on the floor – and then everyone turned their attention to Squall.

'_Why does it feel as if Squall is the leader? What is going to happen now?' _Harry wondered almost absentmindedly. He was almost certain that Squall would be breaking up with him now, or turning him over to the Headmaster at the Garden so that they could find appropriate Knights for Harry. Well, it wasn't as if Harry didn't deserve it after having lied to the three of them, but the thought of being parted from Selphie, Zell and especially Squall, hurt like hell.

Squall opened his mouth and Harry tensed, expecting the worst but praying that the brunette male would be kind when he broke up their relationship.

"As soon as the ceremony is over with and we know whether we passed the test, at least one of us will always go with you no matter where you are." The SeeD cadet said.

Harry blinked as his brain tried to shift gears. That... was not what he had been expecting, so all that came from him was a very confused "Er... huh?"

Selphie giggled. "We're going to be your Knights, silly!"

"Yeah, man. You don't think we'd actually do anythin' else now that we know?" Zell grinned. "Like hell we'd trust anyone else to take care of ya. Money- and attention-grabbing fools the whole lot of them!"

Harry and Selphie and even Squall stared at Zell for that comment. That was pretty harsh coming from the usually so good-natured Zell, but the tattooed male simply shrugged and didn't explain himself. Not that an explanation was needed because they all knew that most people would have taken this chance to exploit Harry to the fullest.

"B-but your SeeD careers?" Harry asked. He didn't want to part from his friends and lover, but if they did become his Knights then they would be dragged into the insanity that was Harry's life and after all this time something was bound to happen. Murphy's Law had been suspiciously absent ever since Harry came to Balamb Town, and it was about high time for some sort of disaster of epic proportions to happen.

"A SeeD can go freelance and hire himself out, our life is ours to do with as we wish." Squall said it in such a matter-of-fact voice that Harry was stumped on how to reply to that.

"And we want to be your Knights!" Selphie added. "And not only out of some odd sense of duty, but because we're your friends. So please accept us as your knights, Harry!" she did an odd sort of bow where she was sitting, and Zell's eyes were practically puppy-like and begging to be accepted, too. It was the oddest thing Harry had ever seen.

"But... well... I... uhmm!" Harry's stuttering was broken off as Squall leaned inn quickly and kissed him. That was apparently the man's way of telling Harry that he had no choice but to accept them and that the matter wasn't up for discussion for he went to the door and stepped outside.

"Let's go," he called back to them. "They will be announcing the results of the exam any moment now."

"Coming!" both Selphie and Zell called out, but they didn't follow until they had grabbed Harry by the arms and practically marched him out of the room too.

Squall looked at them all seriously before he opened the door and exited from his dorm and into the Garden proper. "After the ceremony we will sit down and discuss what happens next in further detail."

As the other two nodded to the order and the four of them exited the dorm room, Harry had to wonder if these three truly knew what they were getting themselves into by taking up the mantle of Sorceress' Knights'.

'_Probably not, poor souls.'_ He nearly giggled at the thought. He had to admit that he was ecstatic that these three were going to be with him through whatever Murphy's Law decided to throw Harry's way.

-x-x-x-x-

There, please tell me what you think.

Not the best ending, but I couldn't figure out how to end it better and I didn't have any more ideas to write for this either. Think of it as a sort of prologue to the story that happens next – whatever that might be.

As to possible plot-holes in these stories: I don't care. They are plot bunnies – not even fully developed ones – and not real one-shot stories. I try to get the glaringly obvious holes and smooth them over, but I can't be bothered to do the detail work that I would with a real story. Accept it and move on, thank you. And if you really need to know why Harry and Hermione didn't simply apparate out of their cell in the last story (HPxOne Piece), then the Seastone prevented them from doing so. There. I have covered myself.

**Kelana Fluteflower / MrAwesome:** stop asking for updates on other stories, please! I will update them at some point, but when people continuously ask about it in reviews that have nothing to do with the story the review belongs to, I get annoyed and I start losing interest in updating. Especially if it's repeated over and over again in different story-reviews. If you review a story then comment on the story you review before asking for something else, it's only common courtesy! If you absolutely must contact me and ask about it, then my e-mail is there for everyone to use and not simply as decoration. Threats of stopping to read my stories unless I update don't work either.

Sorry about that rant.

Thanks to:

xXxOtAkU-444xXx, The Honorable Incitatus, Dysgrammatophobia, Baughn, Zetsuki, Dragonmage182, Tharanee, Namesake, Lykanthrope, Firehedgehog, yumeniai, Sabishii Kage Tenshi, Chosha Kurenai, 917brat, Talia Gea, VigdisVale, and DeltaKyuubi.


End file.
